Restoring Lost Honour
by AaronCottrell97
Summary: When Thomas causes many accidents, the Fat Controller loses his trust and respect for his former No.1. After Thomas makes an incredible discovery, he meets a pirate known as Sailor John looking for lost treasure. And when Thomas is almost driven off the edge, can Emily do everything in her power to save her cobalt star, and will Thomas restore his lost honour and save the treasure?
1. Chaos at Knapford

It was the beginning of another day on the Island of Sodor. As dawn was braking, the engines at Tidmouth Sheds were warming up their fireboxes to prepare for their days work. There was a lot of commotion on the island recently. Along the Little Western, at the coastal town of Arlesburgh, the Fat Controller was constructing a new branch line that would extend the North Western Railway from Arlesburgh Harbour to Harwick, a small coastal town which attracted tourists looking for peace and quiet.

A construction yard had been built to store all the supplies needed to build the new line. Duck the Great Western Engine, worked in the yard sorting out the supplies, while Donald and Douglas the Scottish twins transported them to where they were needed. Oliver the Great Western Engine and Toad the Brakevan transported ballast that was brought down to Arlesburgh Junction by the three small engines, Rex, Bert and Mike, from the Arlesdale miniature railway. Other engines such as Stanley and Samson also assisted with the construction too.

The men were using dynamite to blast away the rock as they worked to level the ground for the new tracks to be laid. Jack, Alfie and Oliver from the Sodor Construction Company, were part of the team too. They were also assisted by Marion the railway steam shovel from the Sodor China Clay Pits, together they all worked to dig away at the rocks while the men weakened them with the dynamite, and the debris was taken away by Max and Monty the dump truck twins, who were also from the Sodor Construction Company.

At Tidmouth Sheds however, Thomas wouldn't wake up, his fire kept going out and there wasn't enough steam.

"Wake up, lazybones!" whistled Percy.

"Ha! Too much racing after buses I'd say," whistled James.

"Gordon will be waiting for his coaches!" whistled Henry.

But Thomas was in no hurry at all to fetch Gordon's coaches. "Let him wait," he yawned and tried to go back to sleep. Emily was the only other engine left in the sheds with him. She knew why Thomas was behaving like this. He had grown conceited once again, he was convinced that he was the best engine on the island and that his branch line was the pride of the whole railway. His cockiness grew worse after racing with Bertie yesterday. He was being reckless and nearly ran into some rail works and almost collided with Toby. He only won because Bertie had to slow down for Oliver the excavator, who was taking up most of the small countryside road. So Thomas had won yet again, and it went straight to his smokebox.

Emily didn't like it when Thomas was being cocky and boastful because he never listened and didn't care about what others thought and it would always lead to him getting into trouble. She would always love him regardless of this negative trait, but it was definitely not something she enjoyed or liked, so she was going to have to be strict with him. She blew her whistle to wake Thomas up.

"Wake up, Thomas!" she shouted. "It's time to start work, Gordon needs his coaches, so get moving, right now!"

Thomas groaned, he didn't want to wake up just for Gordon, but he did notice Emily's serious tone, she usually never spoke to him like that unless he was being really cheeky like this. "Alright, alright, I'll get lazy Gordon's coaches for him...in five minutes."

Emily frowned nervously. Thomas was REALLY asking for trouble now. "Thomas, just please go and fetch Gordon's coaches, before something bad happens."

"You're worrying about nothing, Emily," boasted Thomas. "I mean, what could anything possibly go badly any time soon?"

"Because Sudrian karma is terrifying punctual. If there is no confusion and delay, it hits you. Hard," said Emily, a statement that was absolutely true. Thomas should have known this more than most engines from having plenty of years of experience with Sodor's famous history of many accidents over the years, but he simply scoffed at Emily's very accurate statement of fact.

Emily just decided to give up and get ready for her first train. She puffed away from the sheds without saying another word. All she could do was worry about what was going to happen if Thomas didn't stop being so overconfident. Of course Emily didn't want anything bad to happen to her beloved cobalt star, she just wanted him to stop being so cocky.

At Knapford, Gordon was hissing steam and waiting grumpily and impatiently at the platform for Thomas to shunt his express coaches for him. "Oh, the indignity!" he groaned. "In full steam at the platform and no coaches to pull!"

At that moment, Thomas finally chuffed in the yards to shunt the express coaches. Annie and Clarabel were very pleased to see him. "Thomas!" cried Annie, cheerfully. Unfortunately, Thomas was still being overly cheeky.

"It's time for our first train!" said Clarabel.

"Sorry Annie and Clarabel," said Thomas, loudly and intentionally so that Gordon would hear him, "but I have to collect lazy Gordon's coaches first!"

Gordon did hear Thomas and he was not at all pleased with what he had heard. "I heard that, Thomas!" shouted Gordon, feeling very insulted. But Thomas didn't care what Gordon felt.

"But you are lazy, Gordon, otherwise you'd fetch your own coaches!" criticized Thomas. "You know full well that tender engines are too big for shunting. That's what silly little tank engines are for!" said Gordon, mockingly.

Thomas wasn't too pleased to be insulted by the bigger engine. He knew all too well that Gordon could be too arrogant for his own good at times, especially after bullying Emily for years because of such silly reasons. His beloved angel had been forced to suffer endless pain thanks to the big arrogant engine. Even though Emily had forgiven him, Thomas still couldn't forgive Gordon for what he did to her, they had been on neutral terms with each other ever since Emily had forgiven him and James for hurting her, but Thomas wouldn't let his grudge against Gordon slip under the rug. Determined to prove him wrong, Thomas decided to take his revenge on Gordon, not just for calling him silly, but also as a way of paying him back for hurting Emily.

"Silly little tank engines? Well, maybe this silly little tank engine should take the express today?" And with that, Thomas started pushing the coaches out of the station towards the junction. "Bye Gordon!" he called cheekily, as he thundered past a very shocked and angry Gordon. "Thomas! What are you doing? Come back with my coaches!" demanded Gordon, and started pursuing Thomas.

"You'll have to catch me first!" laughed Thomas. "Stop, Thomas!" thundered Gordon, as the coaches were now running over the points towards the Main Line. Unfortunately for Thomas, things were about to get worse. He couldn't see that Emily was heading directly towards the station, just as the coaches ran onto the points blocking her line and putting her in great danger.

Toby, coming from the same direction, also saw what was happening and took action. "Uh, oh. Thomas, look out! The signal is red!" The moment Toby finished his sentence, the signal turned to red. Thomas heard Toby, and saw the red signal. He wasn't feeling cheeky now, he was feeling very worried. Especially when he heard a voice that made his boiler run cold.

"Thomas!" Emily shrieked, closing her eyes in fear as she applied her brakes. "Uh, oh." Not wanting to put his love in great danger, Thomas slammed his brakes hard on, but the coaches continued rolling out of control over the points, as Emily was getting closer and closer to almost crashing into them. Thomas couldn't bare to look at Emily having a crash, so he shut his eyes tightly, praying that Emily would be safe.

Luckily, Emily stopped just in time, but one of the coaches came off the rails rolling over the points, one coach derailing was quickly followed by another, and another. Gordon and Annie gasped in horror. As Thomas finally came to a stop, he nervously opened one eye, and, to his great relief, he saw Emily was perfectly safe on the tracks, but, to his utter horror, the express coaches were tumbling off the rails past Emily. "Uh, oh. What have I done?"

At last, the coaches had stopped moving, but all of them lay in a terrible mess blocking the junction, while all signals turned red.

"THOMAS!" roared Gordon, obviously furious about what Thomas had just done to his express coaches. "Look what you've done, Thomas!" Thomas was looking at what he had done, but that wasn't his main concern, he was more concerned about Emily than anything else.

"Emily! My dear, are you alright?" asked Thomas, frantically. Emily was in a state of shock but she quickly managed to recompose herself. "Yes, I'm fine, Thomas," she replied. Thomas sighed momentarily with relief, but that sweet relief was lost very quickly.

"Never mind about her, what about my coaches?!" howled Gordon.

"Well, all of this is your fault, Gordon!" protested Thomas.

"What?!" snapped Gordon furiously. "What did I do?! You were the one who took and pushed my coaches into the middle of the Main Line!"

"Because YOU called me a silly little engine!" retorted Thomas, before turning is attention back to Emily. "I'm sorry, Emily, I didn't mean for this to happen and I never meant to put you in any-"

"I know, Thomas," Emily said, cutting him off. "I know you never intended for this to happen and I understand you were provoked into doing it because Gordon teased you."

Gordon snorted. "Oh, of course you immediately side with your silly little blue knight in shining buffers! Ope your eyes woman, look what he's done!"

"You have no one to blame for this mess but yourself, Gordon!" shouted Emily. They argued and argued, until finally the Fat Controller arrived. This made everyone go quiet, especially Thomas, who was now very scared about what would happen to him. The Fat Controller was not very happy when he discovered what Thomas had done. "Oh..."

"But it's not my fault sir," protested Thomas, nervously. "Gordon must have been at the wrong platform, sir, and Emily was coming in very fast, and Toby..."

"Oh, enough, Thomas! It wasn't Gordon or Emily who caused this accident. It was you!" boomed the Fat Controller, sternly. "B-but, I..." stuttered Thomas. "Perhaps you should spend some time shunting trucks in the construction yard."

"The construction yard? What do you mean, sir?"

"I'm sending you to work on the new branch line, Thomas. Maybe that will help you think about being a little less cheeky," said the Fat Controller.

Emily couldn't help but feel sorry for Thomas. He had tried to pin the blame on her, but Emily understood why because Thomas was scared and she wasn't upset. But this was exactly what she was worrying about earlier. His overconfidence and cheekiness had led him into big trouble, even though he never intended to harm anyone, especially her. Although she hated seeing Thomas getting into trouble, this was a lesson he needed to learn, one way or another.

While the Fat Controller was scolding Thomas, Emily looked over at Gordon and to her horror he was smiling devilishly at Thomas' comeuppance, the same exact smile he had on his face when he ruthlessly bullied her endlessly. He was gaining satisfaction from Thomas' suffering, just like he did when he made Emily suffer. Her face changed from a sympathetic expression towards her star, to a vengeful death glare towards the arrogant engine responsible causing this mess. Her expression softened however when Thomas started talking once more.

"But, sir, what about my branch line?" asked Thomas.

"Branch line?" said an unfamiliar voice, then followed by an unfamiliar whistle, a new purple tank engine pulled up beside Thomas. "I think that's where I'm meant to be working," said the new engine. "Ahh, Ryan, my new tank engine. You're here!" announced the Fat Controller.

Thomas was surprised, Ryan was bigger and looked much stronger than him. "New tank engine, but..."

"Come on, Ryan, let's get started," said the Fat Controller, placing his hand on Ryan's buffer beam, while Thomas watched in shock. "And as for you, Thomas, you can head to the construction yard now!" ordered the Fat Controller, sternly, before he left with Ryan. Thomas was still speechless as they left. "But...I..." He looked at Emily again, she had the same expression of sympathy on her face.

"I'm sorry, Thomas...but this really is for the best. Even though Gordon got off scot-free, you need to learn to stop being so overly confident and cheeky...I'm sorry, my love, but you should get going." Thomas could see in Emily's eyes that she didn't want him to leave, but she knew that he had to, and seeing that, he couldn't be cross or upset with her. Instead, he puffed slowly and sadly out of the junction towards Arlesburgh.

Gordon smirked with triumph. "Ha, serves him right."

Emily's sad expression returned to the vengeful death glare she had earlier. "You haven't changed a bit, Gordon..." said Emily, menacingly, surprising Gordon and everyone else around them. Emily glared at Gordon the same way she did the night she told Thomas about all the pain Gordon and James caused her for years. "I honestly thought you wouldn't stoop so low again after I had forgiven you for torturing me. But, this morning you've showed me that I was a fool to ever forgive you, because you're still that same mean, arrogant and insensitive engine that I hated for so many years. You caused me to suffer, but I will NOT let you do the same thing to my Thomas!" she roared.

Everyone was silent, none of them had ever heard Emily sound so dark and menacing, except of course for Gordon. Like that infamous night, Gordon was left speechless and even a little bit scared. But, regardless of that he maintained a calm and stoic expression. He said nothing and puffed away, Emily's glare followed him until he was out of sight.

Meanwhile at the new branch line, there was another kind of trouble. As Donald was chuffing along, the ground beneath the tracks was beginning to grumble. The workmen saw the cracks in the ground and started to panic. "Huh? Hey, it's Donald, he's heading straight for us!" said one of them, as Donald came round the bend, unaware of the danger.

"Stop, stop! It's not safe!" cried the workman flagging Donald down. He applied his brakes and screeched to a stop. Once Donald halted, the danger alarms started to blare, causing all work to stop. The ground of the recently dug cutting was weak and unstable. Engineers were called and declared it unsafe. They put up signs to warn everyone of the danger and made plans to reroute the track.

* * *

And so it begins, the first chapter of my SLOTLT is finally here. Here's how this story is going to go, there's going to be five chapters in this story, not all of them written by me, Jeremy has written nearly a complete chapter by himself and roughly about half of the final chapter. In fact at the time I am posting this chapter, chapter 4 is 99.9% complete, I just need to add the final finishing touches to it. Also the songs *Never Overlook a Little Engine* and *We Make a Team Together* won't be used in this story, instead we'll just be describing everything that happens in those songs, you guys all know the songs so just imagine you're hearing them when you're reading it. So I hope you all have a lovely Easter and leave a review and I will see you all next chapter!


	2. Down in the Cavern

Thomas was fuming dreadfully as he made his way to Arlesburgh Junction to collect ballast for the branch line. He seethed every time he thought about how Gordon got away with everything unpunished. Instead, the Fat Controller refused to let him explain himself and took his branch line away him, giving it to another tank engine. The mere thought of Ryan made Thomas even crosser. Ryan was bigger and stronger than him, just like when Stanley arrived on Sodor, Ryan was getting special attention and it made Thomas immensely jealous, especially now that Ryan had taken his branch line.

Rex, Bert and Mike were busy bringing all the ballast that would be needed for the new branch line. "Hello down there," laughed Rex, as he shunted his ballast trucks up the incline. "Hello up there!" replied Bert. "Hello down there and up there!" whistled Mike. Rex just laughed again. "Hello, what's this?" he asked as Thomas puffed into the junction, looking very cross.

"Oh, dear, Thomas. What's up with you?" asked Bert.

"The Fat Controller has taken my branch line away and given it to some other tank engine called Ryan," said Thomas, crossly.

"What? Why would he do that?" asked Rex.

"Because of Gordon, the big, bossy boiler, that's why!" explained Thomas. "He called me a silly little tank engine and made me cross."

"Oh, big engines always think they're better than small engines," said Mike.

"That's right! They look down on us," agreed Bert.

"Even when we're the ones on top," chuckled Rex.

"Exactly," grumbled Thomas.

The Small Engines decided to lift Thomas' spirits. They all sang a catchy song they called "Never Overlook a Little Engine," which explained how big engines always look down on smaller engines but how small engines are really useful and keep going no matter what. Thomas started to daydream. In his mind, he saw...he and the three engines going through Arlesburgh...the three of them flying over his head, surrounded by planets...them swimming like fish under the sea...them huffing around a giant 70th labelled cake...Rex beating Gordon's speed on a turntable...the three of them crawling like caterpillars, growing butterfly wings and flying into the sky...he and the engines going up the incline junction line...Mike pulling some sheep, Bert pulling an elephant and Rex pulling a dinosaur...and then finally all four of them gong through a sunset together.

By the time the engines concluded their song, Thomas was so lost in his daydreams, he forgot to be careful!

"Okay, Thomas. Off you go," said Rex.

"They might not be ready for the ballast yet though," said Mike.

"They need to lay down the new rails first," added Bert.

"Right. I've got it. Rails first, ballast after!" whistled Thomas, he kept repeating it as he puffed out of Arlesburgh Junction with the ballast. Unfortunately, the little engine's song had made Thomas grow even more conceited.

* * *

Thomas made his way up to the construction yard. While he was uncoupled from the ballast trucks, he saw some flatbeds in front of him. "Look! Rails and sleepers! What did the small engines say again? Rails first, ballast after!" he gasped. "I'll show everyone just how useful I can be." So Thomas eagerly began shunting the flatbeds of rails and sleepers onto the construction site. Duck, Donald, Douglas, Stanley and Samson were in the sidings waiting for the line to be rerouted, but they were very surprised to see Thomas pushing the flatbeds towards the unsafe ground.

"Hey! Stop! Thomas!" shouted the workmen, frantically.

"Ha, ha! Everyone here seems excited to see me. I guess they really need my help."

Thomas didn't realize that the men were trying to flag him down...and he didn't see the danger signs!

"Look out!" shouted a workman. "You can't go down there!"

The men kept shouting warnings, but Thomas didn't hear them. As he passed the danger signs, the ground began to cripple and crack beneath him, leaving the rails like a tightrope.

"Cinders and Ashes!" he exclaimed. His driver applied the brakes, but it did no good. As he bumped into the trucks, his coupling latched onto the flatbeds, causing the flatbeds to pull him. The weight of the flatbeds took their toll and snapped the rails, opening the cavern below. Thomas tried to reverse against the weight of the trucks, but they kept pulling him further in. "Help! Help!" His driver and fireman jumped clear, but Thomas slid down onto the last flatbed of rails. "No!"

"Whoa! Whoa!" he called. Then he slid onto another truck of rails, causing two rails to sway sideways. A cable snapped and, quite frightened, he slid down onto another flatbed of rails and onto one of the sleeper trucks, causing it to fall slide down deeper into the cavern.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" screamed Thomas, and he landed on a ramp, sending him into the air. It seemed like a far fall…then Thomas landed, with a loud, splintering crash at the bottom of the cavern. The impact had disjointed his wheels, popping one of his side-rods off, left scratches all over him and dirt smudged against his face and the number 1 on his paintwork. He was more relieved than hurt as he was still in one piece.

But then, he gasped with astonishment and a small touch of fear. In front of him was a huge, galleon-like, centuries-old ship! It was coloured deep brown like Toby's paintwork, and very large. It looked surprisingly clean, considering it had been there for hundreds of years and the sails were still wrapped in the masts.

In the faint glimmers of light from the top, Thomas could see a torn jolly roger with a skull and cross bones…Pirates!

"Fizzling Fireboxes!" Thomas breathed as his headlamp fizzled out.

* * *

Meanwhile, Emily was in the shunting yards waiting for Philip to bring her another goods train to take to Crovan's Gate. The mess at Knapford had been cleared up and the express coaches had been put back onto the rails. Emily was still very cross at Gordon for teasing Thomas and making him cause the accident and get sent to the construction yard.

"I can't believe I was foolish enough to forgive that Galloping sausage, I thought he would have learned his lesson after the Fat Controller punished him the first time, but no, his stupid superiority complex is still the same as it always was." She was interrupted when she suddenly jerked forward and felt something bump into her. It was then she realized what it was. "Easy, Philip!" she cried.

A cheerful horn came as a response, as the enthusiastic little diesel boxcab raced up beside her. "Surprised you didn't I, Emily? Betcha didn't even hear me coming up behind you because I was so fast-"

"Yes! OK! You took me by surprise! You don't have to be such a braggart about it!" bellowed Emily, crossly. Philip was taken aback by Emily's outburst. She was always very kind to the little boxcab and she never raised her voice at him. "S-sorry..." he said, timidly.

Emily realized she was losing her temper and unleashing it on others who weren't causing any harm to her, just like she did after that terrible storm that blew the roof off of Farmer McColl's barn. "No, Philip, I'm sorry," she sighed. "I'm just so cross with Gordon for making Thomas get into trouble and get sent away. I hope he's OK up at the construction yard."

At that moment, the Fat Controller's car pulled into the yards. The Fat Controller climbed out and he did not look very happy in the slightest. "Leave those trucks there, Emily, and take a flatbed up to the construction yard immediately. That Thomas has gotten himself in even more trouble," he said, crossly.

Emily grew incredibly worried as soon as she heard Thomas was in trouble. "Is he OK, what did he do, sir?" she asked, frantically, desperately hoping Thomas wasn't hurt.

"What did he do? He's fallen into a cavern, that's what he's done!" replied the Fat Controller, sternly. "Now head to the construction yard, right away!" he ordered and climbed back into his car and drove off to the construction yard.

Emily lost all forms of thinking as her mind became fixated on Thomas. Sure he had had quite a few number of accidents, some more bizarre than others, such as getting trapped in a flooded mine and getting flung across a ravine, but, remarkably, he usually came out relatively unscathed, with no major damage done. But this time he fell into a cavern?! That immediately raised a red flag in her mind. Was Thomas being reckless and overconfident once again? None of that mattered to her, as all she cared about at the moment was Thomas himself.

She didn't even hear Philip calling her, as she was too worried about Thomas' current condition. "Hey, Emily!" shouted Philip. "I got a flatbed for yo-" the little diesel boxcab said no more as Emily rocketed out of the shunting yard with the flatbed, completely ignoring Philip.

Emily raced as fast as she could up to Arlesburgh and she didn't slow down until she reached the construction yard. She hoped things wouldn't turnout to be as bad as the Fat Controller made them out to be, but as she approached the scene of disaster, her hopes were dashed when she saw the giant sink hole that Thomas had fallen into. The Fat Controller stood at the sink hole with his arms folded, he was still very cross. As Rocky began to lift Thomas out of the cavern, Emily was dreading how bad the damage would be to her beloved cobalt star. Slowly, Rocky lifted Thomas up, the suspense was killing Emily.

When at last Thomas emerged from the hole, Emily gasped in horror, her worst fears had come true. Thomas had scratches and dirt all over him, but the main damage was caused to his wheel configuration. His wheels were horribly disjointed and looked like they would fall off at any moment. His side-rods were mangled and is undercarriage had been severely damaged by the hard landing as well.

"Oh, honestly, Thomas. What's got into you?" demanded the Fat Controller.

"It's not my fault, sir," protested Thomas. "Nobody warned me to look out for danger signs. I..."

"No, Thomas. I don't want to hear your excuses."

"But sir, there was something else. Down in the cavern," Thomas tried to explain, but the Fat Controller wouldn't listen. "Oh. Take him to the Steamworks, Emily. Please." Emily remained silent and looked up at her love once more, feeling ever so sorry for him as he sadly watched the Fat Controller climb into the back seat of his car.

While Thomas was being lowered onto Emily's flatbed, out on the ocean waters, an elderly man was looking at the scene intently through a telescope. "Whoa, Skiff!" said the man to his small white sailboat. "Stop that! Stop bobbing about! I'm trying to see what's going on."

"Sorry," gurgled the little sailboat, as his face kept dipping into the water. "Sorry," he apologized again. "Shush!" grunted the man, stomping on the boat's bow and went back to watching the events on the cliffs.

Thomas was safely secured onto Emily's flatbed. He said nothing and sat on the flatbed looking very sad and sorry for himself. He looked down, until his eyes met with Emily's eyes. Her eyes weren't full of anger or disappointment, they were full of sympathy, concern, sorrow and, most of all, care. Her soft eyes were soothing to Thomas, they helped to heal the pain he felt, from his fall and his pain on the inside. After what felt like hours, Thomas closed his eyes sadly. With that, Emily slowly began pulling Thomas away from the construction yard.

The two engines remained quiet until they slowly excited Arlesburgh. Thomas kept the same sad expression on his face. Emily could feel all of his sadness and wanted to help him more than anything. "Thomas, my love...please, say something, I'm here for you."

Thomas opened his eyes and looked at his emerald angel. "You were right all along," he said, quietly. "I was asking for trouble for being so full of myself. I thought I was doing everyone a favor by shunting those flatbeds, but I didn't listen to their warnings and the ground collapsed and I got what I deserved."

"Don't talk like that," said Emily. "Yes, you did need to learn a lesson, but you had good intentions, you never deserved to have such a terrible accident, I can't even begin to imagine what it felt like."

"It was terrifying, it was just like getting lost in that mine, I'd never been so scared in all my life," replied Thomas. "But it did the trick. And even worse than any of this, I tried to pin the blame on you for causing the accident this morning."

"I'm not cross about that, Thomas, I understand why you tried to frame me. You were scared of what the Fat Controller was going to say to you."

"Do you really mean that?" asked Thomas. "Of course I mean it, Tommy. You're my cobalt star, I could never stay cross at you," said Emily, giving him a reassuring smile. Thomas gave her a small smile as well, but it was quickly replaced by sadness once again, taking the smile off of Emily's face as well.

After a few minutes of silence once again, Emily spoke up. "You're jealous of that new tank engine Ryan, aren't you, Thomas?"

Thomas sighed. "Yes...I'm sure the Fat Controller wants him to replace me, he already has my branch line and I'm sure he would let him get away with excuses and actually listen to him."

"Thomas, you know the Fat Controller would never want to replace you." Then Emily remembered that Thomas tried to tell the fat Controller about something in the cavern. "Thomas, what were you trying to tell him at the cavern?"

Thomas knew that if there was someone he could confide in with anything, it was Emily. "...I saw a pirate ship, an actual pirate ship in the cavern," said Thomas. Emily was surprised. "A what?" she asked. "A pirate ship, a galleon, larger than life, in perfect condition, with masts and sails, and a jolly roger flag. That means there were pirates," replied Thomas.

Emily was still skeptical. "Are you sure it was a pirate ship?"

"I'm one hundred percent certain that it was an actual pirate ship," said Thomas. Emily couldn't help but think about it. A pirate ship in perfect condition inside a cavern? How could it have gotten in there, did it really belong to pirates? She kept thinking about it until they arrived at the Steamworks, which meant that she had to leave Thomas once again, which he clearly wasn't happy about.

"Don't worry, Thomas. Once the new branch line is completed, you'll have your branch line and we'll be together again, I promise. I love you, my cobalt star," she said, before she puffed out of the Steamworks, all while still thinking about what Thomas had said about the pirate ship.

Thomas sadly watched as his emerald angel puffed away from him, as he was lifted off of the flatbed.

"Cheer up, my friend. We'll soon have you back on the rails again," said Victor.

"There's no rush, Victor," sighed Thomas. "The Fat Controller's got a new tank engine now, and he's already given him my branch line."

"Oh, that's not what I heard. He wants you back to work as quickly as possible. The Fat Controller would never replace you," reassured Victor.

"Dropping those trucks down that hole was an accident, Thomas," interjected Kevin, as he dropped something from his hook. "I drop things all the time and I still work here."

"Only just, Kevin," said Victor. Kevin reversed quickly and fell onto his side. "Ow." Victor winked at Thomas. Thomas still felt sad, but he managed to give Victor a little smile. Just then, Edward whistled in. "Hello, everyone. Have you heard the news from up at Arlesburgh?" he asked, excitedly, then he saw Kevin on his side.

"I fell over."

"Rocky found something else at the bottom of that cavern," announced Edward.

"Rocky...Rocky?" Thomas was furious, he had found the pirate ship, he deserved all the credit for it, it was his discovery! But now, Rocky had stolen all of the credit.

* * *

Up at the construction yard, Rocky was lifting the pirate ship out from the cavern. The Fat Controller was there too. "Steady. slowly does it. Careful." Finally, the incredible pirate ship emerged from out of the cavern. "Oh...haha. Oh, well done, Rocky. Well done! What a find! You are a really useful crane," congratulated the Fat Controller. "We shall take it to Arlesburgh Harbour and put it on display."

Everyone was amazed by the magnificent discovery. "Whoa, how did anyone manage to get that into a cavern?" asked Alfie.

"Hmm, maybe you can fold it up like those model ships they put in bottles," said Jack.

"Nonsense. There must have been a way to sail into that cavern," dismissed Donald. "Aye. It must have been open to the sea. Maybe the entrance collapsed," agreed Douglas.

"Well, if there's a buried pirate ship there's bound to be buried treasure, too," said Marion, excitedly. "Ooh, I'd love to dig up a..." she gasped. "Oh! Yes! Yes, yes, yes! That's what I'll wish for!" she laughed and hurried away to Arlesburgh Junction to meet the "magical" engines, Rex, Bert and Mike. "Oh, that's perfect. Ooh, a whole box of gold."

So while Marion went to make her wish, Donald and Douglas, pulling and pushing proudly, brought the ship through Arlesburgh. All throughout the coastal town, everyone was amazed by the magnificent pirate ship in all of it's glory. As Donald and Douglas brought it into the harbour, the elderly man and the little white sailboat watched from Arlesburgh Bay in amazement. "Ah-ha!"

Later on that very night…one big green engine got a bit of a fright. Henry was taking the Flying Kipper when he saw something white and blurry in the mist. He looked intently and as the view grew clearer, he caught sight of a white sailboat and a mysterious man gliding along the rails.

"Whoa!" exclaimed Henry as he diverted into a siding and bumped hard against the buffer. He looked to his side and suddenly saw nothing! Then he looked back to his buffer beam. "…Ow."

At Tidmouth Sheds, another engine was feeling unsettled too. Emily had fallen asleep beside an empty berth and was still thinking about Thomas' accident. She was stirring and mumbling uncomfortably in her sleep…

 _She felt like she was at the coastal cliffs during a gathering storm, and she could hear a constant shouting… "Help! HELP!" She followed the sound until she gasped with horror! She saw Thomas hanging over the ledge of a sheer drop into the sea with his back coupling clinging for dear life against a wedged truck. "HELP ME! SOMEBODY HELP ME!" he shrieked._

 _"THOMAS!" wailed Emily. "I'm coming!" She raced over to where her love was hanging from. Thomas was relieved at first, but just before she could latch onto him and pull him up…_

 _"THOMAS!" grouched a familiar voice. Both Thomas and Emily gulped fearfully. The Fat Controller had come to the scene and was in no mood to listen...again. Thomas was desperate._

 _"Sir! Sir!" called Thomas. "I didn't mean to-"_

 _"Silence!" the Fat Controller pouted. "Excuses won't help you now, Thomas! Ryan would be much more careful than you EVER were! He should have taken this train!"_

 _As he kept reprimanding above Thomas' pleas, the coupling began to strain and creak in the gathering rain._

 _"Please!" said Thomas. "I-"_

 _"Thomas! Look out!" cried Emily. She rushed forward to help him before it was too late..._

 _"STAY AWAY FROM HIM!"_

 _"Sir, I love him and he needs our help!"_

 _"I won't allow it! He's caused too much trouble already!"_

 _As the Fat Controller and Emily argued, the coupling on Thomas grew tighter and creaked louder. Emily heard it and steamed right past the Fat Controller. She finally had a rope tied to Thomas and she tried to pull him back up. But just before he was clear of the ledge, a loud crash of thunder split the air and a bolt of lightning set the truck ablaze. Emily tried desperately but suddenly the coupling frame got singed and Thomas was away off the drop!_

 _"Emily!" his voice descended down the drop._

 _"Thomas! NO!" Emily shrieked above the noise of the storm as she watched her precious engine plummet into the sea! Had it not been for her controller arguing with her, she could have saved her love. Just as she heard the splash, Emily slipped back into her world…_

Emily's eyes burst open and she screamed with fear, waking up Edward and Percy. With the exception of whistles, Gordon and James could sleep through anything.

Edward and Percy looked at Emily, who was still panting as the real world dawned back to her. Then she looked at the empty berth beside her.

"Thomas! Please…" she gasped. She couldn't fall asleep again unless she knew he was alright. She scurried out of the sheds and into the night. On her way, she came to a red signal and saw Henry, still getting over his shock from what he saw.

"Henry? What's going on?" she asked. Henry was still so frightened, all he could do was stammer.

"…a-a man…s-sails and m-mysterious…what it…I-and…w-when…uh…whoa…"

"Speak up. What happened, Henry?" asked Emily.

"…PIRATES!" he wailed as the signal went green and Emily had to move on. "Pirates…? Henry, why do you worry so?" she said, to no one in particular. Then she remembered why she was out here, so she went on to the Steamworks, just to check if her love was alright.

When she got there, the clock read 2:00 a.m. She quietly snuck past a sleeping Victor and Kevin and just in front of her, she saw Thomas, asleep but looking sad. She could tell that her words of comfort didn't work back when she brought him here. Why he was back on the rails was obvious…he had new wheels fitted on. She was happy that he was nearly fixed, and that he was alright but still sad that his number wasn't cleared of the dirt.

"Thank goodness it was just a nightmare," she whispered. Then she thought he'd feel at least a little better if he could see her.

"Thomas…Thomas!" she whispered, trying not to wake Victor and Kevin. Thomas stirred and looked around. He couldn't see much in the dark until a beam of moonlight shone through one of the windows. It shone right on Emily's face. Despite what happened that same day, Thomas couldn't help but cry softly seeing his angel at a time like this. He didn't kiss Emily but he gently pressed his lips to her cheek so he could feel how nice and warm her face always was. When he withdrew, he saw Emily looking sad.

"What's the matter, Emily?" he whispered.

"Tommy…Tommy…" she started as her eyes began to shine with tears…then she sobbed quietly. "Good Heavens! I had the most terrible nightmare about you…"

She told him all that she saw in her nightmare and Thomas felt even worse. "That's why I came…to see if you were still here…I thought you were gone! Oh, Tommy, please don't go! I love you! I was so scared…" As Emily looked down, still crying over her dream, Thomas buffered close to her and softly kissed her cute little nose. This made Emily look up into his ever-handsome and caring eyes.

"Shh…it's alright, Emily. It was just a dream," he said. "I'm just happy you're alright too." Emily blushed pink and stopped crying, but she remembered she needed her sleep for the next morning…

"Thomas, I know you still need to be at Harwick, but I can't sleep unless I know you're still here, ready for work again. Please, may I sleep here with you?"

"…of course, Emily," Thomas whispered. Emily smiled and touched her nose to his. Even though she knew he still had plenty to do at Harwick, at least she knew he was alright and slept at least with some peace in her mind and enjoyed her star's comfort.

* * *

Chapter 2 has been docked matey's! Let's give a big round of applause for Jeremy for writing that amazing (how many times have I said that in this chapter) nightmare sequence, as ell as the cavern bit, Jeremy you really are amazing, I cannot stress that enough. The second anchor has been dropped, only three more to go laddies and lassies, leave a review and I'll see all on deck next- OK I'll stop talking like a pirate.


	3. The Last Straw

As the first rays of the sunlight began to cloak the Island of Sodor in it's warmth, Thomas held his love closely to him, his nose was still touching Emily's nose. A few hours after Emily came to the Steamworks, before the sun began to rise, Thomas had woken up again and didn't bother trying to go back to sleep, he wasn't feeling tired anymore.

Why was he not tired? Because he couldn't stop thinking about Rocky taking the credit for finding the pirate ship in the cavern. How did none of them realize that Thomas was the one who fell into the cavern, therefore he obviously found it first, it was plain common sense and logic. But no, instead they decided to give Rocky all the credit and praise because every single one of them, most particularly the Fat Controller, were complete and utter idiots to not see that it was Thomas who made the ground collapse and reveal the cavern!

Thomas wanted to scream and vent out all of his frustration at everyone's refusal to listen to him, but he resisted the temptation because he didn't want to wake up Emily. He remained perfectly still, keeping his nose against hers and watching over her. She needed his comfort and she had to know that he was still there. The warmth of Emily's delicately soft face helped to sooth and calm the anger building up inside him.

It wasn't just the anger he felt about the pirate ship and Ryan taking his branch line, but also he was angry with himself for being so conceited and reckless. Letting Gordon get to him, ignoring the danger signs and falling into the cavern and causing Emily to worry about him so much that she had a nightmare about losing him. If only he had listened to her, then none of this would have happened, he would never have caused her to have that horrific nightmare.

Despite his guilt, the fact that Emily came to see him so late in the night after everything that happened warmed his heart so much and knowing that she was with him now helped to restrain his anger. As the sun rose higher into the sky, Thomas kept watching over Emily until she began to stir and slowly began to open her eyes. When they were fully opened she felt his nose touching hers and saw his ever-handsome eyes looking at her. When she saw her star was safe and sound, her eyes began to water with happiness. "Oh, Tommy...thank goodness you're still here," she weeped quietly.

But then Thomas moved his nose away from hers, making her look up at him, sad over the loss of physical contact, but it also made her worried as Thomas never pulled back, unless something was bothering him, and something most certainly was. Whenever they slept together, whenever Thomas woke up before her, she would always see a genuine happy smile when she woke up. This time however, she awoke to find no smile whatsoever. Instead, she woke up to see Thomas with a scowl on his face.

"Thomas, what's wrong?" she asked.

"Nothing..." answered Thomas, but he was obviously lying.

"No it isn't. Don't do this, don't shut me up, let me help you. What's bothering you?" she insisted.

Thomas' face formed a mild sense of anger. "Did you hear about Rocky?" he asked annoyingly.

Emily had not yet been to Arlesburgh and therefore hadn't seen the ship yet. "No. What do you mean, Thomas?"

"I tried to tell the Fat Controller about the ship, but he shut me up and sent you off with me!" he snapped. "Soon after you left, Edward came in and said Rocky found something. That means HE got the ship out and took all the credit and praise!"

Emily suddenly realized…her own controller was failing to use his common sense and didn't think to consider Thomas' explanation. Whatever he did hear from Thomas, he thought was a tall tale, so why didn't he realize his mistake when Rocky brought the ship out? Emily seethed a little, telling Thomas she was most certainly on his side in this matter.

"We can't judge Rocky too harshly, Tommy. You know who's truly to blame…" she said with a slight frown. Then she tried to amuse Thomas a little. "He really is the….FAT controller, isn't he?! Sir…Why you little…clown!"

Thomas couldn't help but chuckle at that. But he was cut short by Henry passing by and still worrying about the ship he saw the other night.

"Pirates…Pirates…Ghosts!" he exclaimed.

Then Emily saw that Thomas would need to leave soon. She buffered to him and gently pulled him out of the Steamworks into the sunlight. Thomas felt less optimistic about leaving but was still happy that Emily, his beautiful angel still had faith in him.

"You'd best get going, Thomas. I'm gonna see what's with Henry," she said. "And…I'm very sorry about your number."

Thomas didn't make a big deal out of his number being covered…yet. "It's just mud covering paint, Emily. It'll wash off…eventually."

Emily gave Thomas her ever-lovely smile then she gave him a kiss on his cheek, making him feel better at least for a little while.

"Goodbye, Thomas, and don't worry. I'm always here to help you."

"Thank you, my lovely angel," Thomas smiled as he left for the Harwick Line, but as he puffed away his smile and brief joy were quickly vanquished.

Emily then went on her way to find Henry and see what he was worrying about. She remembered meeting him the previous night after her nightmare and wanted to see why he had become so frightened. From behind one of the sheds at Brendam Docks, she could hear familiar voices.

"Ha! You were probably just dreaming, Henry. Didn't they find you asleep on a siding?" laughed James.

"I was perfectly awake," protested Henry. "I saw a ghostly sailboat, sailing along in the moonlight, as if the land was the sea."

"Ooh! A ghostly boat, Bill!" laughed Bill and Ben, cheekily. However Edward appeared to be on Henry's side. "That does sound very scary," he admitted.

"Nonsense. That just sounds silly," scoffed Cranky.

Then Salty rolled up. "Ha, ha! Argh. Sounds to me like the lost pirate."

"The lost pirate?" asked Henry, nervously.

"Arr. He'll be looking for his treasure, he will," said Salty, as he began to tell yet another tale of the sea. "Long, long ago, the lost pirate sailed the seas...Attacking merchant ships and stealing their valuables to keep as his treasure. The merchants and the Navy tried to get that treasure back, but the lost pirate hid his ship in a secret cove where he couldn't be seen and buried his treasure in the ground. Arr! Then he drew himself a map so he could find it again, but the lost pirate's treasure map blew overboard and now he roams Sodor forevermore trying to find his buried treasure! Arr!" laughed Salty, as he finished the story.

The other engines could only gasp. "Oh, my!" said Henry. But Cranky just laughed. "That must be one of Salty's tallest tales ever!" Then one by one the engines started to move away. "But it's true! I saw the lost pirate! And he was just like Salty says he was," protested Henry, but there was no one there to listen to him.

Emily remembered how Salty's "Flatbeds of Fear," was just one of his tall tales, turning out to be wind through the pipes, but this sounded completely different. While she knew there was certainly a pirate-age and treasure was in fact real, she still agreed with Cranky that this was one of Salty's tallest tales ever. By now, her mind was spinning faster than when James spun round like a top on the turntable. She had Thomas to worry about, the Fat Controller to be suspicious of and now she had this pirate story to think about as she went about her day...

* * *

Thomas was making his way back to the construction yard again, when he saw the big ship at Arlesburgh Harbour. "Rocky didn't find that ship. I did," he gasped crossly. As Thomas puffed past the harbour, in the bay the little white sailboat watched as his master climbed onto the ship while no one was watching and began to look around it.

Thomas filled up with coal from an old hopper just outside the construction yard. "Done all the jobs you gave me, sir," said a voice, that Thomas didn't immediately recognize, but he definitely recognized the next voice. "Thanks, Ryan." It was the Fat Controller and he was talking to Ryan. Thomas was confused, what was Ryan doing here and not on his branch line?

"Well done. And keep up the good work," continued the Fat Controller. "I will, sir! Thank you, sir!" replied Ryan and he puffed away.

As the Fat Controller made his way to his car, Thomas decided to make his move. "Sir!" he called, gaining the Fat Controller's attention. "Sir. If Ryan is here, can't I go back to my branch line again?"

"No, Thomas, you can't," replied the Fat Controller. "Percy is looking after your branch line and you still have work to do here. You need to collect more ballast for a start," And with that the Fat Controller climbed into his car and drove off, leaving Thomas to lament as he crossly bumped some ballast trucks.

"I use to be the Fat Controller's No. 1 engine, but I'm not his No. 1 anymore," he said sadly, as he set off to collect the ballast as the Fat Controller had ordered. He looked sadly at his tanks, his noble No. 1 was gone, covered up by the dirt, now Thomas did feel like making a big deal of it. His controller was pushing him aside and didn't care how he felt, all he seemed to care about was the new branch line and Ryan.

By the time Thomas arrived at Arlesburgh Junction, he was coughing and spluttering sparks and black smoke from his funnel.

"Oh, dear, Thomas," exclaimed Rex. "You don't sound right," added Bert.

"I know! It's that Ryan! He makes my firebox fume!" fumed Thomas.

"I don't think Ryan can make sparks come out of your funnel," said Mike. "I think you've had some bad coal," coughed Bert.

"And you don't want bad coal, Thomas, that won't make you really useful," added Mike.

"Oh," said Thomas, feeling silly for thinking it was Ryan that was making him cough. When all the ballast had been loaded into his trucks, Thomas made his way back to the construction yard. As he passed through Arlesburgh again he stopped near the harbour, close to the pirate ship. He gazed grimly at it, for it was the proof that the Fat Controller had lost all of his faith in Thomas, now he assumed that Thomas was full of nothing but excuses and tall tales and gave Rocky all the glory in finding the ship.

Thomas knew, like Emily told him that morning, that he shouldn't judge Rocky too harshly, but he was so angry that he didn't care, Rocky had taken away what should have been his, so he was just as furious with Rocky as he was with the Fat Controller, as Rocky should have realized as well that it was Thomas who found the ship and not him. Why was no one was using their common sense?!

He turned his gaze away from the ship and began to look out at his reflection on the ocean. A shadow of his former self, the once noble image of the Fat Controller's railway, was now scarred and disgraced. Thomas didn't see himself as he was now in his reflection, instead he saw the image of what he was before earning his number one, a silly little green engine who was always full of himself and made mistakes every day. He was the last of his siblings from Brighton, and this was what he had become - a disgrace to the E2 class, his brothers...and sister, Emma.

 _"Well, look after the branch line, Thomas. And wear that number with pride."_

Those were the words that Thomas had heard when he obtained his branch line, but Thomas could not remember who it was who said that to him. "I'm sorry...Emma...my brothers...I promised I'd proudly carry out your legacy, but now look at me...I've let you all down..." said Thomas, quietly, then he puffed sadly back to the construction yard.

As he left, unbeknownst and unseen by anyone, a ghostly apparition of a little tank engine was watching Thomas, before it faded away...

* * *

As evening was falling, Emily was working her way to Arlesburgh. As she rounded the bend to enter the harbour, the ship caught her eye. Seeing it made her realize why Thomas was losing confidence and patience…then she saw Donald and Douglas working side-by-side. She almost never had any interaction with them except for when they apologized for their harsh words after Thomas saved her. Having some Scottish origin herself - being designed by a Scottish engineer - she wondered if they could help.

"Donald, Douglas!" she called. The twins looked over to Emily. "Evening, dear lady," they said together. "What brings ye here?"

"I was just coming to work at the harbour, but I noticed that ship Rocky pulled out of that cavern…I heard you two brought it here. I must say I'm proud of you." Douglas was impressed. "Thank ye, lass," he said.

"However," Emily continued. "Did you know that Thomas found that ship after his accident yesterday?"

Donald was shocked. "What do ye mean, milady?" he asked.

Emily thought she could try to get two more engines on Thomas' side. She told the twins all about Thomas' accident at Knapford, until he fell into the cavern. Hearing that Rocky was given the praise made them both cross, but not with Rocky or Thomas.

As Emily left, Douglas looked around and saw there was no one else around, then he looked at a poster of the Fat Controller. "You…you MONGREL!" he wheeshed.

"He's a muckle nuisance!" put in Donald. "It's to leave him behind I'd be wantin'. Poor Thomas, the wee lad must be grousing terribly!"

While the twins were grumping and griping over their own controller's paranoia and lack of care, Emily had completed her work and was on her way back to the sheds, but something else happened within her...an old memory, back when she was still suffering under Gordon and James' tyranny began to hit her mind…

 _"There's no such thing as treasure…Don't be silly…everyone knows it's just a silly old story!"_

Emily was suddenly crying. This incident was very similar to that other incident all those years ago. She and James had ridiculed Thomas' efforts to find the treasure Salty had told about, and now the Fat Controller was doing the same thing. Emily composed herself and her sadness changed to utter annoyance and suspicion. She looked up and saw the Fat Controller's car driving past. With her good eye-view, she noticed he wasn't driving. His guard was driving and he was just riding lazily in the back…just like he did two times prior!

Emily glared at the passing car. "What are you playing at…Bertram?" she asked out loud, to no one in particular. "Thomas needs us right now, and you're isolating him." As she returned to the sheds, she made a decision…She had remained quiet in the Fat Controller's presence when she helped Thomas to the Steamworks, but that wouldn't happen now.

"No more keeping quiet," she whispered with a frown. "If I have to snap and make my controller step down off his pedestal, so be it." As she fell asleep, she thought of many different ways on how to pay the Fat Controller out…

* * *

That night, Thomas' fireman cleared all the bad coal out of Thomas' coal bunker and Thomas filled up with clean coal from the new hopper. He then headed to the sheds, but he didn't see that Ryan was already there.

"Hello, Thomas. Come on in. There's plenty of room in the shed," coaxed Ryan. However Thomas wasn't keen on sharing a shed with his replacement. He thought Ryan would start making fun of him and boast about how bigger, stronger and better than he was. Right now, Thomas saw Ryan as an enemy and he wanted nothing to do with him. "No, I'd rather sleep on a siding. By myself," he said, rudely, and puffed away from Ryan, who was left feeling sad.

So Thomas found a siding, and settled down for the night, as a small mist began to roll in from the sea. While Thomas tried to fall asleep, the ghostly apparition from earlier appeared behind him.

 _"Big brother..."_ it said, waking Thomas up with a fright, he could have sworn he had heard that voice before. "Hello? Who's there?...Emma?" asked Thomas, but he received no response, as the ghost faded into the misty night. Thomas was confused, he was sure he had heard his little sister's voice, but how could he when Emma was dead?

"I'm just hearing things, Emma is dead," Thomas concluded. "I really need to get some sleep, now."

As he drifted off, he was woken up again by a rumbling behind him.

"What's that?" he asked. He looked and saw a white sail gliding along the line. "A ghost boat?" Thomas decided to investigate. He followed wherever it went into the still, misty night. As he neared the cavern he fell into, he saw the boat parked and a man examining the hole. Thomas gasped as he came closer.

"That's not a ghost boat…he's got wheels," he murmured. He was stopped by the clanging sound of a pick-ax. That alerted the man into turning around and shining his lantern on Thomas.

"Well, blow me down," said the man. He looked elderly and had a grey line of whiskers along his face. On his head, he wore a sailor's hat. "Who are you? And what are you doing sneaking after me?"

Thomas decided he had to respond. "Um, my name is Thomas, and I discovered that cavern…and the pirate ship, even though Rocky's taking the credit for it!" He said, still angry at being swindled for his discovery.

The man was interested by this news and introduced himself. "Oh, so you discovered the pirate ship, did you? Well, that makes us friends. My name's John. Sailor John. That's what people round these parts like to call me anyway."

Just then, the sailboat came blowing back. "Whoa! And my name is Skiff," he added. "We're trying to find the treasure." To which Sailor John elbowed Skiff crossly.

"Treasure?" asked Thomas. "What treasure?"

Sailor John laughed and explained the acts. "Ah, well, where there are pirates, there's bound to be treasure, Thomas," he said and placed his hand on Thomas' buffer…just like the Fat Controller did with Ryan upon his arrival.

"How would you like to help us find it?"

"Yes! Come with us, Thomas. Please, Thomas," inquired Skiff.

Thomas was pleased. Although Emily still had everlasting faith in her star, having someone who believed in him, let alone a sailor was enough to brighten his spirits. Sailor John fetched a harness and rope then latched one end to Thomas while he wore the harness and carefully inched his way down the cavern.

"OK, Thomas, easy does it now. Lower me down."

Very carefully, Thomas eased forward, while Sailor John stepped down. When Thomas was near the barrier fence he heard the pirate call up. "That's it! Hold it there!"

"OK," Thomas replied as he stopped in time.

"We've been sailing up and down this coast for years!" explained Skiff. "We're searching for the secret cove where Captain Calles kept his ship, but it sounds like you fell right into it." Suddenly, a gust of wind caught Skiff and blew him along the line, but his anchor latched into the ground and pulled him back.

Thomas thought Skiff was very carefree and friendly. "I've never met a rail boat before," he said.

"Sailor John gave me wheels after the ship was discovered, so we could search for the treasure on land. But I wish I could be a real engine like you, not just a sailboat with wheels stuck on." Then another wind gust pulled Skiff forward again. "Whoa!" he called.

"I bet it's great fun to sail the sea!" Thomas called after him. "It is quite fun, but I don't much like putting my face in the water," said Skiff, remembering when John was witnessing Thomas' discovery. Just then, they heard Sailor John laugh from down in the cavern. "I found it!" he called.

"The treasure?" Thomas and Skiff said together. "No, the map!" replied Sailor John as he laughed with triumph. By dawn, Thomas helped him back up out of the cavern. "Slowly, Thomas. Easy does it," said the pirate as Thomas lifted him back to the surface.

"Ha-ha! The treasure is as good as mine!" exclaimed Sailor John. While he tucked the map away, Skiff looked behind him and suddenly said, "Sun's up, Sailor John!"

"Huh? Oh, uh…" said Sailor John as he began to stammer. "No more searching today, Thomas…Um, uh, we, uh…we forgot our shovel, see?" with that, he unlocked a hinge on Skiff and rotated him round.

"And I'm too small to be out on the rails in the day when the big engines are rushing about," he said.

"Aye, that's it. We'll continue tomorrow night, Thomas," said Sailor John as he boarded Skiff. "Up anchor, Skiff! We're heading for home!"

"Um, I can't, Sailor John. There's no breeze. The wind has died down. Unless…" he turned his attention to Thomas. Thomas was puzzled at first but he caught on almost right away.

Before long, Thomas was pushing Skiff and Sailor John along the line. "Wha-Hoo!" cheered Skiff, laughing with the ride. "I'm going as fast as a real engine now!"

"Not yet you're not, Skiff," Thomas said, whistling along.

"Keep it down, Thomas! You'll wake everyone up," ordered Sailor John. "Oops, sorry," said Thomas.

"Easy, Thomas. Easy," said the pirate as they passed Ryan's shed, Ryan heard a chugging noise and opened his eyes.

"Huh?" he said, confused by seeing a sail in front of Thomas.

As the sun continued to rise, Thomas reached Arlesburgh and Skiff cheered again. "Wha-Hoo!"

"We'll take it from here, Thomas!" called Sailor John. Thomas stopped and let the boat roll along down the rails towards the sea. "Bye, Thomas!" said Skiff. "Bye-bye!" Thomas called back as he watched the pirate sail off. "Go on, Skiff!" he heard the pirate call...

* * *

The sun was higher in the sky as Thomas came back into the yard. He was still excited over meeting his new friends, until he heard Ryan speak. "Morning Thomas! Huh, you're up early!" Thomas didn't feel like talking to Ryan. He started to back away as Ryan spoke again. "Did I see you out pushing a sailboat?" he chuckled.

"No, Ryan. You didn't."

"Oh, I guess it was a dream."

"I guess it was, Ryan."

"I was still half asleep." As Ryan stopped under the old hopper, Thomas asked, "What are you doing?"

"Oh, filling up with coal. The Fat Controller is sending me to Brendam Docks to collect some trucks."

Thomas looked down, saying nothing. "Oh, did you want to go first?" Ryan asked.

"No, no. That's alright. I think I'll use the other hopper," said Thomas. "Oh, OK," said Ryan. Ryan was taking the bad coal from the old hopper, but Thomas didn't say anything to warn him...

* * *

Marion was working on the next cutting, but the ground was very hard. She kept beating her shovel against a boulder, but to no avail. "Ow! Not more rock!" she complained. "We've run out of dynamite. We're waiting for a train from Brendam Docks," said Oliver the Excavator.

"You should go, Oliver. You could make another wish and turn yourself back into a railway engine again," said Marion cheerfully.

"Uh, I don't really think that will work, Marion," said Oliver as he tilted his bucket and dropped the wood. "Come on, Gang. Let's go and wait for that dynamite."

By the time Ryan got back to the construction yard, he was coughing smoke and spluttering sparks. For once, Thomas felt concerned for the new engine. "Oh dear, Ryan. You don't look very happy," he said.

"Oh no, Thomas. But I think I must have had some bad coal…You're lucky you used the other hopper this morning," Ryan replied as a workman uncoupled him from his train. He began to pull away when suddenly…

"Fizzling fireboxes, where is all that smoke coming from?"

Thomas looked at the smoke-trail and gasped. "From your trucks!" he exclaimed.

"My trucks! But they're full of dynamite! It could explode!" Ryan panicked as he hastily biffed the train away into Marion's shovel, loading it with one of the burning crates!

"Ooh, what's this? More sparkly magic," said Marion, but she gasped too! "Wait a minute, the dynamite. This shouldn't be on fire yet! Oh, oh, oh!" she exclaimed and tossed into Alfie's shovel. He tossed it over Oliver and it landed in Jack's bucket. "Whoa!" he cried.

"Get rid of it, Jack! Dispose of it!" Oliver demanded. Jack tossed it back to the truck! "Safely?"

"Not back in the trucks, silly!" cried Marion as she knocked the trucks back towards Ryan.

"Ryan, look out!" warned Thomas. A workman switched the points, directing the train away from Ryan who backed away in a panic. "Oh no!" he shouted. Thomas started shunting the burning train along Ryan's line.

"Whoa, Thomas!" called Ryan. And at that most unfortunate moment, the Fat Controller was driving just above that line and heard the distant shouts. "Thomas?" He looked out and saw the scene. Thomas continued to speed along as the fuse burnt shorter and shorter. "Oh no!" Ryan cried again.

"Out of the way, Ryan!" Thomas ordered. Ryan backed into a siding and Thomas turned to another workman. "Now!" The workman switched the line, leading Thomas away from Ryan. He saw the cavern barrier just ahead and slowed down, letting the train bump into the barrier and send the dynamite down the cavern. It exploded much to Thomas' relief. He had saved Ryan's life as well as the diggers, who came up behind and cheered for him, but not for long.

"THOMAS THE TANK ENGINE!" bellowed an all-too familiar voice. All Thomas could say was, "Uh-oh." On the ridge above him, towering down just like Diesel 10 did upon his return was…the Fat Controller.

"What are you playing at now?! I thought you could learn to be more responsible if I sent you to work here," he snapped.

"But sir, this time, it's really not my fault. I-"

"No, Thomas!" The Fat Controller pouted. "I've had quite enough of your excuses. Go to your shed immediately! And you can stay there for the rest of the afternoon. And everyone else can get back to work!" With that, he marched away. Thomas felt absolutely terrible.

Later that evening, the diggers tried to carry on, but without the dynamite, there was only so much they could dig.

"That's it now, for today," said Oliver the Excavator. "Come on, it's time to go home." While he and the other diggers left, Marion was still digging a little more. "Oh!" she exclaimed as she saw she had picked something up. "What's this? A box?" she asked. "Oliver, Alfie!" she called. "Guess what's in my shovel! ...Anyone?" she asked. But no one replied. "I'll save this for tomorrow, then," she told herself.

Meanwhile, Thomas was placed in the shed. By now, he was miserable, humiliated and enraged. He thought he'd be given a chance to explain the situation but in his controller's paranoia and ignorance, he was completely cast away. After being swindled for finding the ship AND being punished for saving one's life, he finally let his emotions loose.

"GGAARRGGHH! You've thrown me away, FAT controller! You will NEVER be my friend! You sided with Gordon ever since he teased me, and I HATE YOU!" Then his tears broke open the floodgates and his sobs could be heard by Ryan, Donald and Douglas.

All three engines were troubled by this. Ryan knew if he hadn't panicked and got in the way, this would not have happened. He told Donald and Douglas everything about the burning dynamite and Thomas' heroic move. The twins were very proud of Thomas for such bravery but they also completely lost faith in their controller now.

Thomas looked back to the punishment he had wrongfully been given and made his declaration of the Fat Controller. "You…you MONSTER!" He shrieked and fell back into tears again.

"Reminds me of that spiteful brakevan, Douggie!" Donald grouched. "The Fat Controller's been nothin' but a screechin' and a noise when all is said and done!"

"What say we spread the news and reveal the swine that he is, lad?" asked Douglas.

* * *

Well folks it's here, sorry for the wait, but I'm back in school now and I'm swamped with work, so while I did do a fair bit of this chapter myself, I have Jeremy to thank for finishing it off. Also I can promise you now that the next chapter won't take nearly as long to upload because it's already completed, so give it a few days and it will be up, I promise, also it was written almost entirely by Jeremy, and all I'll say is you do NOT want to miss it at all. So as usual leave a review and I see you all very soon.


	4. Regained Trust

When Donald and Douglas heard from Ryan about Thomas' ultimate abuse, the news spread rapidly along the island. Donald came up to Henry and whispered about Thomas and the Fat Controller. "Pass it on," he said. The word spread to almost every engine except Gordon, Edward and Emily. Gordon was still beaming in pride with the express, Edward was too busy on his Branch Line and Emily was at Tidmouth Sheds. Wherever the Fat Controller was, the engines stared crossly at him, saying nothing. The Fat Controller didn't think much of it as he was still fuming over Thomas' apparent behavior.

"Hey, Douggie," said Donald suddenly. "We still haven't alerted one important engine…that lovely emerald one." The twins went to see Emily right away at Tidmouth Sheds.

"Emily!" called Douglas. "Something has happened, and it's terrible!"

Emily heard the whole story from Donald and Douglas of Thomas saving Ryan but then how the Fat Controller sent him to the shed for the afternoon. She even heard that Thomas was crying, "like a poor, lost child," in his shed. Emily couldn't believe her controller had been so ignorant.

 _"I don't know him anymore..."_ she thought.

As the twins huffed away, she left the sheds for her evening train, feeling very sad. When she reached Knapford, her eyes turned to the Fat Controller, who was still grumbling to himself about Thomas' "destructive behavior." Her sadness for her star gave way as she watched him frowning the same way he did to Thomas several times since this mess began. He had driven his No. 1 engine to tears for saving a new engine's life and he was still refusing to listen to him. He didn't even think to ask Ryan or the vehicles what happened!

As she imagined how miserable, lonely and defenseless Thomas felt, Emily's face formed an infuriated scowl and her eyes felt like fireballs. The Fat Controller was still convinced he was right, she could tell…She wondered about Thomas' words about the ship when she brought him to the Steamworks...he was completely ignored by his own controller! It pained her to remember when he was ridiculed for trying to uncover the treasure Salty told him of years ago…But after being wrongfully punished, Thomas was feeling the same pain Emily felt when Gordon and James tortured her, and it was time for her to help him out by defending him...just like he defended her from 'Arry and Bert's cruel bullying.

The Fat Controller was refusing to notice the facts and Emily knew she had to step in and stop him before he did something to drive Thomas away from Sodor…and from her forever. She knew what she was about to do may look questionable but it was for the right reasons to somewhat regain Thomas' happiness. The Fat Controller was just crossing the track to the other platform when she carried out her plan...He would not hurt her star anymore.

"Sir-Bertram-Topham-Hatt!" Usually, Emily was respectful to her controller. But after what he did to Thomas, she didn't trust him. Her voice sounded almost poisonous. The Fat Controller turned at Emily's call, only for her to charge him, making him stagger back and fall over onto the tracks as she stopped with her front wheels just a few inches away from him. Emily then let off a big blast of steam and the wind blew it onto the Fat Controller, soaking him from head to toe.

"What do you think you're DOING?!" Emily shouted, not bothering to check if anyone was around...something in her wanted someone to know this. The Fat Controller gazed into her flaming eyes.

"What has happened to you?! The Sir Topham Hatt I knew when I was still suffering gave praise for good work, listened to those in need and cared about other's feelings! Donald and Douglas told me what REALLY happened and you just brought Thomas, your No. 1 engine, my true love...to tears! Can't you see how troubled he is at you not listening to him?!"

"Emily," the Fat Controller said after a moment, still very stern and slightly stubborn. "Thomas almost destroyed Ryan! He only makes more excuses and-"

"DON'T-YOU-DARE-BRING-THAT-UP!" Emily screamed as she surged forward, making the Fat Controller yelp. "Thomas didn't mean to derail the express coaches! He took them from Gordon because he called Thomas a 'silly little tank engine'. I understand Thomas needed to learn a lesson for being careless…but he only tried blaming me and Gordon because he was very scared of what you would say or do to him. Everyone gets scared if they do something wrong. He also found that blasted ship but you refused to listen to him and you selfishly gave Rocky the credit! And just today, Donald and Douglas told me he saved Ryan's life by pushing him into a siding and shunting the dynamite down the cavern!"

The Fat Controller slowly lost his stern expression as Emily kept confronting him...

"Did you ask the diggers or Ryan what they knew before you made your choice? Did you even give Thomas a chance to tell his side of the story?! NO!" Her scowl grew colder and darker, and her axles began to shake with her fury. For the first time, the Fat Controller looked and felt very frightened. "You punished him without thinking to listen and just sent the diggers back to work, leaving them to feel sad! I agree that hearing 'it's not my fault,' sounds like an excuse, but that time, Thomas actually meant it! THOMAS IS NOT DESTRUCTIVE!" She barked. At this moment, Emily was so close to her controller, her front wheels were just barely touching his feet, but she was careful not to move any closer.

"You've been too hard and overprotective of late, sir. Right now, you're acting more like Diesel 10 than Thomas ever has since he found the pirate ship, or ever in his life! You've been mistreating him and practically BULLYING him just like Gordon and James bullied ME! You said it was your job to ensure that there is peace among us all…What RUBBISH, you top-hatted charlatan!"

Looking at the plain, crystal-clear humiliation and shame on the Fat Controller's face, Emily knew that she had won. At least he listened to the facts...for once, and Emily had gotten her point across perfectly. Still very angry, Emily reversed roughly, leaving Sir Topham Hatt free to get back up as she glared at him again, intending on finding Thomas so she could calm down and hopefully help him feel better. Now she spoke very quietly…and very dangerously.

"Think about your recent actions, Sir...Topham...Hatt," she said, darkly. "Think long and hard about how you treat Thomas when you next see him, because he thinks you don't want him anymore...we've almost lost him twice before, after Stanley arrived and when he drifted off to Misty Island. We were lucky to get him back…but if you're not careful, the Island of Sodor, or even worse, I could lose Thomas...forever…and if that happens, Emma's dying request will be shattered, and I will never, EVER forgive you. Diesel 10 had to hear these words; now you'll hear them too: YOU will put right everything you damaged! Now go apologize to Thomas this INSTANT! SAY YOU'RE SORRY!" Emily snarled as she steamed away in a huff to hopefully find Thomas. While taking her train, she stopped and saw Edward, looking hard at her.

"Emily, I heard what happened back there...why did you do it?" he asked.

"…I defended Thomas from horrific bullying by our controller! I'll tell you more later," Emily said abruptly, leaving Edward surprised.

* * *

Meanwhile, he Fat Controller returned to the Harwick construction site to regain at least some of Thomas' confidence. But Thomas wasn't in his shed. "Thomas has run off for the docks, sir," said a worried Ryan. "Why?" griped the Fat Controller. "He said if leaving Sodor will satisfy you, he'll make it so," panicked Ryan. The Fat Controller was silent for a full minute...

"Oh no," he finally said. He dashed back to his car and left immediately. Emily had just delivered her train and was feeling a little better. "Oh, if you could see me now, Thomas…" Suddenly, the Fat Controller pulled up. "Emily! You have to come with me, now! Thomas is on his way to the docks! We've got to go after him!"

"Oh no!" cried Emily. "To the docks and hurry!" she panicked and steamed off as fast as she could while the Fat Controller sped alongside her.

Emily sped up until she was going almost as fast as Caitlin, her wheels rang against the rails like the Flatbeds of Fear and sparks leapt from her funnel. She knew the Fat Controller would reach the docks first…there were some diverting tracks and she was still a considerable distance away. The Fat Controller saw a shortcut road and swerved onto it. He could see the docks up ahead. "Oh, I hope we're not too late!" he and Emily trembled together.

Cranky had just lowered his crane harness down to Thomas and the workmen started securing him. "Alright, Thomas…I hope this will be worth the time and effort...unlike with Rosie and Percy," he cranked.

"It WILL be, Cranky," Said Thomas firmly. "I'm leaving Sodor, to escape the Fat Controller's unfairness and his snobby big engines."

Cranky was taken a little aback by this. "Thomas…you might be wrong..." he said gently, with some concern and care. But Thomas' frown made him be quiet and he began lifting him.

The Fat Controller reached the Docks. He screeched to a halt, just as Cranky lifted Thomas up off the tracks. The Fat Controller pushed and jostled through some workmen, barged into the Dock manager's office and grabbed the loudspeaker. Cranky had lifted Thomas as high as he could and was just about to turn round to lower him onto the ship when…

"STTOOOOPPP!" A deep, familiar voice split the air.

Cranky was so surprised, his arm jolted Thomas halfway down. A huge wave crashed loudly against the harbour port. "Cranky, put Thomas down!" the Fat Controller demanded.

"NEVER!" burst out Thomas as a lighthouse beam flashed on his paintwork, and his voice was a loud as the waves. "You rob my Branch Line, let Gordon escape red-handed, ignore my ship explanation and ignorantly punish me for saving Ryan's life! You don't want me, I'll get rid of myself and join all my brothers…and Emma!" Thomas shrieked in anger, then started to cry at mentioning Emma. Everyone at the Docks, Salty, Porter, the workmen and Cranky fell silent.

Thomas…" said the Fat Controller gently as the clouds slowly parted, revealing beautiful rays of the setting sun. "Please…listen to me. Emily gave me a good scolding. She told me what really happened and why."

Thomas was surprised. "What did she tell you?" he asked.

The Fat Controller began to tear up. "She told me that Gordon teased you into upsetting the coaches, that you were only trying to blame him and her because you were scared. I can understand that now. She told me that you really did find the ship, for which I am now proud of you, and that Donald and Douglas told her you were saving Ryan from certain destruction by pushing him away from the dynamite while you shunted it into the cavern. I'm so sorry for not listening to you and being so unfair. I DO want you here, Thomas…" He then took a handkerchief out and blew his nose loudly.

When he recovered, he continued more calmly. "I was just upset with all the delays that had occurred during those accidents...and I wanted to help you get over your cheeky behavior. I didn't mean to make you think I wanted Ryan as my No. 1. That is not true at all. You are Sodor's No. 1 and always will be, no matter how cross I get with you. I brought Ryan to run the Harwick Branch Line, but he came too early, so I thought letting him run your Branch Line would help him learn until you came home again from construction."

Thomas was astonished. "Do...do you mean, sir…when the new line opens, I will come back to the main line and you will give me my Branch Line back?"

The Fat Controller smiled. "Yes. You will come home upon completion of the new line…and of course I'll give you your Branch Line back! These things take time, and everyone must wait their turn. Meanwhile, though, I'm sorry, Thomas…" He was close to crying again. "I'm eternally, sorry. Please come down...come home. It's what Emma would want. Remember what she told you?"

Thomas looked back to that day…" _You have a famous branch line and a wonderful home, please cherish them forever._ " Emma had said. Thomas didn't sob out loud, but tears soaked his face yet again as he realized he almost neglected his late sister's request.

The clouds had now completely disappeared and the sunset was now shining brightly on Thomas, illuminating him in a beautiful orange glow. He heard Emma's voice in his head. " _I live on inside you, Thomas. I understand how you felt, but you must never turn your back on Sodor. You are No. 1 and your controller relies on you to keep us alive in you._ " Thomas was now fully convinced his controller loved him and admired him with great dignity and prosperity. He finally smiled himself.

"...Cranky, put me down, please."

"…Grrr…CURSES! I should have known this would happen again!" bellowed Cranky as he lowered Thomas back down. "Everyone makes mistakes, Cranky," said Thomas.

Emily puffed into the Docks just as Thomas touched the rails again. She instantly started sobbing with overwhelming relief and happiness. "SIR! Thank you! Thank you, thank you, thank you!" she spluttered. Then, she looked at Thomas..."My darling cobalt star! Thomas! THOMAS!"

"EMILY!" squealed Thomas.

"OH, THOMAS, THANK HEAVENS YOU'RE STILL HERE!" Emily wailed as she rushed forward, buffered up to Thomas and showered his face with kisses. Then they cried happily for several minutes, their warm tears dabbing onto each other's faces. "Oh, Emily! You're my hero!" Thomas echoed Caitlin's words when Emily saved her, much to her delight.

When they both calmed down and stopped crying, the Fat Controller addressed them. "Emily, if you please, take Thomas back to the Harwick construction site. The work there is nearly finished. Tomorrow, I'll send Ryan to collect more dynamite to finish the blasting. And you, Thomas, will perform your last duty there…you will take construction waste to Whiff's Waste Dump. Then I'll let you work on the main line until Harwick's Branch Line opens. After that, you can go back to your Branch Line."

"Oh…thank you sir…for everything!" whistled Thomas. "I'll work hard and responsibly too!"

"Excellent!" chuckled the Fat Controller.

* * *

By nightfall, Emily had brought Thomas back to the construction site. "Ohh…oh…thank you so much, Emily…what would I do without you, my beautiful emerald angel?" Thomas breathed. "Aww," said Emily. "Always happy to help you, my cobalt star. That's what loved ones are for. Besides…It's a wonderful way of repaying you for saving me."

"I thought so," smiled Thomas. "I'll always support you, Tommy, just as you support me," Emily cooed.

Then her soft, warm, sweet lips intertwined with Thomas' and they both melted into it completely, after all the struggling and suffering they had been dealt with these last few days, this wonderful kiss was precisely what they needed to feel, when they added their tongues to the mix, things could not be more perfect. At last, after ten whole minutes they pulled away, staring into each other's twinkling, sparkling eyes in the moonlight. "I love you, Emily…I'll always love you…You have made me the happiest engine in the whole world…"

"I love you too, Thomas…I feel just the same way, and I promise, we'll be together again after you finish up here and when this line opens." She paused for a moment. "Um...Thomas, you can say no, but…would you like me to sleep here with you tonight?" she asked.

"I'd love that, Emily," smiled Thomas. "However…after you helped me today, I'm so happy, I think I can endure one or two nights alone. We've survived a few nights alone in the past." Emily knew that. She was OK with his feelings. "OK. One or two nights isn't bad. I'll have the other engines keeping me company," she smiled.

"That-a-girl," said Thomas, dotting her cheek with a kiss. "Goodnight, angel."

"Goodnight, star," Emily smiled, as she softly kissed the love-spot on his cheek. As she left, she sang out, "I love you, Tommy!"

"I love you too, Em!" Thomas called back.

Duck, Ryan, Donald and Douglas came later and settled down to sleep too…apart from Thomas. He had heard Skiff pass by and went out to meet his new friends again. Sailor John was checking the map when he saw Thomas arrive with a beaming smile.

"Ahh, glad you could make it, me hearty," laughed Sailor John. "You'll be really useful you shall."

"Especially if we lose the wind again," added Skiff.

Thomas laughed with Skiff. "Always happy to be really useful, Sailor John," he smiled. "Did you get the shovel?"

"Shovel? Oh…We got the shovel alright," replied Sailor John, examining the map. "Hmm…I can't say for sure…" He inquired, stifling a chuckle. "…but it looks to me like the treasure should be buried over that way. Shall we sail on? Thomas, could you be the wind in our sails again, matey?"

Thomas immediately obliged and began pushing Skiff and Sailor John into the night. By now, Thomas was feeling much better. He had some reassurance from the Fat Controller, thanks to his angel and he was even more eager to help his sea friends. As they went, Sailor John spread his arms and glided along with the breeze. He even gave Thomas a chance to look through the spyglass. Through it, Thomas could see the "Red X," where the treasure was to be buried. The first location the map directed them to was a rock. At first, Sailor John was puzzled, then he got an idea.

He got a rope and anchored it to the rock, then tied the other end to Skiff. Then Thomas, pulling hard, helped shift the rock away. While he circled round the line to face the right way, Thomas was observing the map as it flapped in front of him, then it blew onto Skiff. Thomas gave him a wink. Upon returning, Sailor John ignited Skiff's headlight where the rock once stood and Thomas shone his light on the same spot. Now, Sailor John could begin his treasure hunt.

While the pirate dug his way in, Thomas grew amazed and excited. After discovering the ship, he couldn't wait to lay eyes on the treasure…and tell Emily about it when he got the chance. Suddenly, Sailor John's shovel came loose and cracked off the handle. Right away, Thomas was gliding along the line with Skiff. When they came back, Skiff was full of shovels and diggers.

Sailor John kept digging, occasionally throwing dirt and stone over his head on Thomas and Skiff, while they merely laughed it off.

Hours passed. Thomas and Skiff kept changing position and Sailor John kept digging…to no avail. While still eager, Thomas was beginning to lose his excitement. Just before dawn, Sailor John had dug ten holes altogether and still, there was no sign of the treasure.

"Ohhhhh! I've dug everywhere now and there ain't no sign of that treasure. But according to the map it should've been here! Unless...someone has beaten us to it...eh, Skiff," said John, looking suspiciously at Thomas. Skiff was confused. "Huh?"

So was Thomas. "What? What are you saying?"

"Oh, I'm not saying anything, but only the three of us have laid eyes upon that map, and I've been with my sailboat night and day," said John, accusingly.

Suddenly, Skiff called to his master. "Day, John! Day!"

Sailor John groaned at those words and Thomas had a feeling they'd be going now. Then Skiff started singing "Day-O," much to the pirates inner annoyance. Almost right away, he griped. "Alright, Skiff! I heard you. I'm coming." Thomas felt unsure. John usually wasn't like this...

"But don't you go thinking this is the end of it, Thomas!"said John, as he pushed one of Skiff's oars into the ground until they started to roll along the rails, with the wind pushing them away from Thomas and past where Marion was sleeping...with the treasure in her shovel. Thomas was now feeling sad and confused. Sad that his new friend was accusing him of finding the treasure himself, but also confused by what he meant by this was the end of it. He puffed away with that thought in his mind.

At that moment, Marion woke up and saw the treasure chest in her shovel. "Oh, yes, I am the shovel master! Queen of the...Oh! Oh, Thomas! Thomas! Guess what's in my shovel? Go on, guess! You'll never..." At that point, both Thomas and Marion bumped into each other, causing Marion to drop the chest on top of Thomas, covering him in gold chains and gold coins. When he realized what it was, Thomas gasped.

"The treasure! Marion, you found it!" exclaimed Thomas, with overwhelming joy.

"You mean, my wish. It came true!" exclaimed Marion, with equally overwhelming joy, as Jack, Alfie and Oliver arrived at the scene and gasped in amazement when they saw the magnificent ancient discovery spewed all over Thomas.

* * *

The penultimate chapter his here folks, this was almost entirely written by Jeremy, and I must say that you have done an amazing job Jeremy. With that all said and done, there is only one more chapter folks, so please leave a review and look forward to the grand finale of "Restoring Lost Honour". See ya then!


	5. Mutiny on the Bounty

Dawn was breaking over the island and Thomas was beaming over finally discovering the treasure with Marion and the diggers.

Meanwhile, Gordon, Henry and Emily were at Knapford Station, and Gordon was waiting for Percy to bring him his coaches. He was still boasting about "silly little tank engines," much to Emily's chagrin…but soon, he would receive his own comeuppance. Percy arrived with the coaches and just before Emily could start scolding her former enemy…

"GORDON THE NUMBER 4 ENGINE!" Gordon knew that voice and began shaking with petrified fear. He had been found out by the Fat Controller. Emily smirked with satisfaction and Percy scurried away as the Fat Controller stormed onto the platform, red as James…

"You despicable LIAR! Emily told me what truly happened here...I thought you would have learned to respect all of us equally after Thomas saved Emily all those years ago, but I was wrong! I am impossibly disgusted by you! How DARE you get Thomas sent away for YOUR actions!" he bellowed.

Despite his fear, Gordon tried to talk his way out. "Sir, Thomas ruined the express and-"

"NOT ANOTHER WORD!" roared the Fat Controller. "You, Gordon, have broken your word and made one of my engines suffer yet again, just like James did with Percy and the 'scrap monster'! I will keep my word from when Emily was still suffering…for deceiving me and Thomas again, you will stay at the smelters, watching scrap be melted down until this evening for tonight's express...should you attempt to leave that smelters before I come for you, I will lock you in the shed for the season! AM I UNDERSTOOD?!" His voice seemed to shake the whole station.

Gordon felt as though the water in his boiler turned to ice. He barely whispered. "Yes sir." Henry merely stood still and speechless. Then the Fat Controller turned to Sodor's angel. "Emily, you'll have to take the express today."

"With pleasure, sir," said Emily. Now she could truly prove she was as good as Gordon. This time, she waited for the brake coach to be coupled on. The guard's whistle blew and she huffed out of the station, chuckling at Gordon's defeat.

"Henry, before you head up to the docks, get this abomination of the railway out of my sight!" the Fat Controller grouched.

"Yes sir," said Henry. He coupled to Gordon with a stern bump, then roughly jerked out of the station. After Henry left Gordon at the smelters, he couldn't help but say to himself, "Galloping sausage," as he went to collect his train from the docks, leaving Gordon to shudder with horror at the showering sparks from the claw above him.

On his way to the docks, Henry passed Emily. She had remembered this time to stop for water and the coaches were full with Bertie's passengers. Henry winked at her, making her smile. She had saved Thomas, and now she was pulling Gordon's express…the right way. She was making good time thanks to her patience and going smoothly and gently with her passengers. She had a wonderful time.

* * *

Back at Knapford, the Fat Controller heard a ring from his office. "Oh, bother that telephone!" he grumbled. When he answered it, it was the Harwick Manager. The Fat Controller listened…then in just half an hour, he was at Harwick.

"Thomas!" he exclaimed. "My goodness! What on Earth did you discover?"

"But sir, I didn't find it," said Thomas, with honesty. Then he laughed. "Marion already dug this pirate treasure up. Dropped it on me by mistake." Marion merely blushed as Thomas gave her a wink. Workmen picked the gold coins and the jewels off Thomas, and returned it to the chest.

"Pirate treasure!" beamed the Fat Controller. "This will make a splendid addition to the museum!" While the Fat Controller thanked Marion, Ryan and Thomas were on their separate ways for more dynamite and the dump.

"See you later!" whistled Ryan. But Thomas didn't reply…he frowned to himself, remembering Sailor John's warning not to think that was the end…and he began to wonder if that was the treasure Sailor John was trying to find.

At the coastal cliffs, a storm was slowly gathering and Thomas was still lost in thought, until he heard a whistle and shout. "Henry?" he called. "The Lost Pirate!" exclaimed Henry. Sure enough, Thomas saw an anchor, and just in front of it was Sailor John and Skiff.

"Where's my Treasure?!" demanded the pirate. "The Fat Controller has it," explained Thomas. "He's giving it to the museum."

Sailor John was cross. "MUSEUM?! WHAT museum?! I haven't been searching all this time to see the treasure end up in a museum! It's for me!"

"But you always said we were going to give it to the museum!" said a confused and worried Skiff. Sailor John only growled stepped on his bow.

"Get my treasure back, Thomas!" he roared. "No, Sailor John," refused Thomas. "That treasure didn't belong to you, and it didn't belong to the pirates. It was stolen! So it's going to the museum, and that's the end of it!" With that, he began to approach the sailboat.

"I will not be pushed aside," Sailor John said stubbornly. "Hold firm, Skiff!" But Thomas simply shunted Skiff into the siding, knocking Sailor John off his feet. "Sorry, Thomas!" called Skiff. Thomas trusted Skiff and felt pity for him being under control of such a man. As he went on his way, he could hear the pirate complaining.

"I…WANT…MY…TREASURE!"

* * *

Thomas took the trucks to the dump. He passed through Knapford Station on his way back. Thomas felt wonderful to be at his home station once again. Despite his thrill to be home though, something caught his attention. The Fat Controller was in his office on the phone. He was speaking to the manager of the museum about the treasure while holding a coin beside the open chest. Thomas listened in to whatever he could hear. He managed to hear the Fat Controller say,

"Is that right? 16th Century? How incredible…Oh, I see. Well, I can keep it locked up in the safe here overnight. It should be safe in the safe, after all."

Thomas couldn't stop worrying. Would the treasure be safe in the Fat Controller's office overnight? As he went along the line, he kept thinking about Sailor John and the treasure. After a while, he saw the Fat Controller at a level crossing.

"Sir?" Thomas called as he stopped. "Hello, Thomas. You look nervous…What's the problem?" said the Fat Controller.

"I'm not sure the treasure will be safe at the station," said Thomas.

"Oh? Why do you think that? A safe is very protective and practically unbreakable."

"Sir…I've seen Sailor John." The Fat Controller's heart jumped. "You have? When and where? Thomas, tell me everything."

And this is what Thomas told him…

"I think Sailor John is a dangerous man. When I returned from the Steamworks after my cavern accident, that night, I saw him in a white sailboat named Skiff. I told him about the ship. He told me that made him a friend of mine. He invited me to help uncover the treasure. So I lowered him down the cavern and he found a treasure map. We searched all night, but then he told me to escort him to the harbour before daybreak. All he said was that he forgot a shovel…"

The Fat Controller had heard of Sailor John's former involvement in the Navy and knew what Thomas meant. "I know why he leaves at daybreak, Thomas. He's a retired Navy member. He's sure to be avoiding the police. When else did you see him?"

Thomas told him: "Only last night, after Emily brought be back to Harwick, I met him again. This time, he had the shovel. We followed the map's instructions but when we reached 'X marks the spot,' the treasure wasn't there. He believed that I beat him to it…although Marion dug it up last evening. He told me not to think that was the end. That's when I began to get suspicious of him."

The Fat Controller grew concerned. "Thomas, he must be up to something. Do you have any more to tell?"

"One more thing…just before I arrived at Knapford…" said Thomas.

"While I was heading to the dump today, I passed Henry at the coastal cliffs. I found Sailor John again and told him about the treasure going to the museum. He demanded me to get it back, but I refused, telling him the treasure was stolen and was going to the museum one way or another."

"Thomas," said the Fat Controller. "I'm very grateful that you refused to obey that pirate's command."

"He still might try to get the treasure, sir," worried Thomas. "Would it help if I keep watch at the station tonight?"

The Fat Controller wasn't sure. "I almost lost you after you tried to run away, Thomas. I would rather not risk you against such a dangerously determined man…but if you're determined to protect the treasure and keep that pirate at bay, I will not stop you. If you see him again, whatever happens, you must be careful."

"Yes, sir," said Thomas. "Even if he does get the treasure, I'll make sure he doesn't go unpunished." The Fat Controller smiled. "Thank you, Thomas. Why don't you go make amends with Ryan? He wants to be your friend."

"Of course…Goodbye, sir," said Thomas as he went on his way, with a full mind. He wondered what would happen if the treasure was lost, or what that pirate would do. Back at Harwick, he arranged a small train of stone and brought it to one of the sheds.

"Hello, Thomas," said a voice. Thomas looked to his right. "Oh, hello, Ryan."

"Thank you for helping me with the burning dynamite. What you did was so brave." Then remembering his panic, Ryan spoke apologetically. "I'm sorry if I got you in trouble again."

Although his punishment was completely unjustified, Thomas couldn't help but apologize a little too. "But I'm the one who should be saying sorry. I should have warned you about the bad coal."

"Oh, come on now," Ryan joked. "Look, why don't you sleep in the shed tonight, Thomas? There really is plenty of room."

Thomas appreciated Ryan's generosity and consideration but he remembered he had a job to do. "That's alright, Ryan. I think I'll spend the night at Knapford, just in case," he said as he departed Harwick. "Oh…in case of what?" Ryan asked.

* * *

Thomas found a place behind one of the Knapford Station buildings, where he could keep watch. He looked all around and saw complete stillness. At that time, the clock read 12:10 a.m.

Later, at 2:35 a.m., two voices broke the silence. "Where are we going?"

"Keep your voice down, you'll see soon enough." It was Skiff and Sailor John. And Thomas had fallen asleep, not hearing the quiet sneaking in. Sailor John anchored Skiff at the platform and climbed off. Suddenly, he heard the sound of an engine. Henry was coming through with the Flying Kipper. As he passed through the station, Sailor John had hidden by posing in front of an Arlesburgh Beach poster.

Then he came up to the Fat Controller's office and spotted the safe. Smirking with triumph, he took out a dynamite stick! An explosion and shattering glass split the air, waking Thomas up at once.

As Sailor John departed the station, Skiff was now very afraid. "It's not right! I don't want any part in this!" He protested.

"Oh, why don't you just pretend you're putting your face in the water and keep your mouth shut!" growled Sailor John as he once again stepped on Skiff's top.

"Ow!" called Skiff. "The treasure!" gasped Thomas.

"Thomas!" called Sailor John and Skiff.

"Stop!" yelled Thomas. "You'll have to catch me first!" laughed Sailor John.

"Come back!" Thomas couldn't chase them! "Oh no!" His fire had gone out and there wasn't enough steam!

Sailor John and Skiff were getting away! "HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HAAAAHHH-HA-HAAAAHH!" laughed Sailor John. His cackle echoed through the town and into the dead of night…

At Tidmouth Sheds, Edward, James, Percy and Emily were asleep. Annie and Clarabel were on the siding outside the shed. Besides Thomas on the chase and Henry's Flying Kipper run, Gordon was taking the late-night express. Three of the engines were in complete beauty-sleep, but Emily was mumbling in her dreams...

"Don't cry, Thomas…don't cry…" she mumbled. The Fat Controller may have sincerely apologized to Thomas, but she still wondered about her star. Thomas did say he could endure a night or two alone and she didn't sleep easily without him. But still, she had the other engines with her, so it wasn't all bad. Then, as she remembered defending him and having a lovely long kiss with him at the Harwick site, she began to feel relaxed again and she slept more peacefully…

Suddenly she heard a distant chugging sound…she snorted and her eyes flickered open as Henry rushed by, waking up Annie, Clarabel and the other engines. "Oh no! Oh no, he's coming! He's coming, it's-it's…the Ghost Ship!" Henry howled as he flew past the sheds and into the night. "What are you talking about Henry?" Emily called sleepily after him. Edward, James and Percy were utterly confused and went back to sleep. Then Emily saw Skiff sailing past with a cackling Sailor John on board. She was very confused indeed.

"I'm having a very strange dream...So am I," she heard Annie and Clarabel say. Then, an all-too familiar whistle split the air, waking everyone up again. "THOMAS!" Emily joined in with Annie and Clarabel.

"Come back with that treasure!" Thomas shouted as he soared past the sheds. Then, James and Edward suddenly realized! "That's the Lost Pirate! Henry was right!" they exclaimed simultaneously. "Hurry! You can do it, Thomas!" Emily called after her love. Thomas heard Emily and went even faster after the pirate. As he rounded another bend, the signal went red.

"Oh dear, Thomas. Red light!" laughed Sailor John as Thomas soared past it and heard a deep whistle. Thomas looked ahead and saw Gordon. Gordon's mind was still clouded over his punishment earlier that day and didn't even hear Thomas shout, "Express coming through!" The signalman switched the point and the signal's bell alerted Gordon's attention. Thomas just managed to pass the switch when Gordon thundered onto the line.

"THOMAS!" he roared, but Thomas kept soaring along through the tunnel. Then at the top of the hill…

"The pirate ship!" Thomas exclaimed. At first he was confused, wondering how John could have got it from Arlesburgh to this hill…Then as he felt a considerable breeze in the air, he saw that the sails were open…it hit him! " _He must be using the wind to guide the ship!_ " he thought.

"Superior sail power, Thomas me lad! You'll never catch me now!" He unhooked Skiff's anchor and the ship began to creak down the hill. Thomas saw Sailor John give a pirate salute and he began to tire as he climbed the hill. But he remembered.

" _You can do it, Thomas!_ " Emily's encouragement kept ringing through him as he went as fast as his wheels would carry him.

"Whoa! Too fast! Way too fast!" wailed Skiff as the ship plummeted down the hill and round the bend.

Meanwhile, Ryan was out in the night too and was just arriving at Arlesburgh Junction. "I can't sleep. I keep wondering what Thomas was worried about. If he's in trouble, he might need my…Help!" he called as he finished his sentence, followed by Sailor John's laugh…and the ship! "Pirates!" shouted Ryan, as he started to reverse backwards. "Pirates!" said the three small engines, when they heard a familiar whistle. "That sounds like Thomas!" said Rex.

"Stop! Stop that ship! Rex, Mike, Bert!" called Thomas. "What? Those little engines?" laughed Sailor John. Rex backed up. "Quick! Give us a push!" Bert and Mike backed up too and all three said. "One, two, three!" and shunted a train of ballast off the junction onto the line!

"Huh?" said Sailor John as the ship hit the rubble, making Skiff cough and splutter ballast from his mouth.

Sailor John was now at Skiff's front. "Oh! Sink me! Huh? Oh no! We're losing power, Skiff!" One truck was caught under the ship and sparking wildly. "Ahh, you little engines!" Thomas looked up at Rex, Mike and Bert. "Never overlook a little engine!"

"That's right! Go get him Thomas!" they called back. Ryan was still reversing, trying to follow the ship.

"Faster!" shouted Sailor John. Thomas saw a long rope flailing around in the breeze. "Ryan, the rope!" called Thomas.

"Huh?"

"Stop that ship!" The rope latched onto Ryan's right buffer and the ship started pulling him backwards. Ryan's shouts alerted Sailor John. "What?" Ryan braked hard and as he hit the buffers, the rope tightened and the ship began to tip over. At last it sprawled on its side, leaving Sailor John only with Skiff to escape in. "Ahh! No!" he shouted.

"Great job, Ryan," complimented Thomas as he continued his chase far into the night. Hours passed. Thomas' firebox was hotter than usual and his wheels ached, but despite his exhaustion he kept chasing on, remembering Emily's words all the way.

As dawn began to rise, Thomas and Skiff were speeding towards Arlesburgh.

"Skiff, stop!" commanded Thomas. "But I can't! I can't" wailed Skiff, who's wheels were now shaking along the line.

"Shiver me timbers! You never give up, do you?" growled Sailor John as he grabbed the shovel and hurled it at Thomas. The shovel spun past his wheels with a bright spark. "Skiff, drop anchor!" called Thomas.

"Here, let me drop it for you!" laughed Sailor John as he threw that at Thomas too, but that didn't stop him. "Argh! Scupper that!" cursed the pirate. Then Thomas saw him reach down again. When he stood up again, laughing, Thomas saw a roll of dynamite! He gasped and tried to keep his distance as Sailor John lit a match to the fuse.

"So long, Thomas! It's been a blast!" shouted Sailor John as Thomas shut his eyes and prepared for the end. He heard Skiff call, "Thomas LOOK OUT!" And Skiff leaned over to one side, making John lose balance and drop the dynamite as it exploded on the other side of the line. Thomas was both relieved and shocked as he felt lucky to be alive.

"Oh no! SKIFF!" Sailor John shrieked as Thomas came up again and bumped Skiff. "Sorry, Skiff, but I have to stop you somehow."

"That's OK, Thomas. Try again. Derail me," said Skiff. Suddenly, Thomas felt a whack against him. Sailor John had an oar with him. "Treachery! Mutiny! I won't stand for it" he roared. "I'll have you in the dry-docks, Skiff, and take away your sail!"

Thomas tried bumping Skiff again but it only spun him around over the points while Thomas sped off on the other line. "Oh no! Skiff!"

"Goodbye, Thomas!" sang Sailor John, laughing as he escaped. "I'll always treasure the good times we had. Come on, Skiff. We're heading for home!" As the sailboat went out of sight, Thomas lost confidence. He thought he'd fail to keep his promise to the Fat Controller. But suddenly, he looked ahead and had one last plan. He repeated what Emily said. "I can do it!" He gained speed and went for where the tracks crossed over each other. Sailor John could still see Thomas. "Huh? Faster Skiff!" he ordered.

Thomas appeared from the other side. "Here I come, Skiff!" He shouted as he bumped Skiff again, making him spin round until he was facing Thomas. At first, they exchanged a smile but then… "Oh! Cinders and ashes! No!" Thomas' driver and fireman jumped clear but Thomas slithered into the sea. A wave splashed over him and at last washed the dirt away from his number.

"Thomas!" gurgled Skiff. "You'll never catch me now!" Sailor John repeated as he began to row out to sea.

"We have to help him, Sailor John! He shouldn't be in the water!" protested Skiff.

The pirate stepped on Skiff's bow for a third time. "Sail on, Skiff! One more word of mutiny, and you'll be driftwood, mark my words!" Then a wave began swaying them around. "Whoa! Stop that!" said Sailor John. "Skiff, you're letting in water!"

"It's not me, it's the treasure! It's too heavy!" Skiff replied, and indeed, the treasure chest kept rocking back and forth in his deck. "Throw it overboard or we'll be sunk!"

"No way, Skiff. Sail on, I tell you!" Skiff continued to gurgle in the water, until he saw a huge wave approaching. "Not this time, Sailor John!" shouted Skiff as the wave overturned him and Sailor John. The chest dragged him down towards the sea and eventually escaped his grip, much to his disappointment. Thomas remained at the edge of the harbour, perched on Skiff's chassis, panting and waiting for Skiff to resurface.

 _"No, no...this can't be the end, Skiff can't be gone! He has to come back up!"_ he thought frantically, fearing his friend was gone forever. Soon enough, however, Skiff did resurface. He and Thomas exchanged a few laughs and Sailor John resurfaced too. He climbed on top of Skiff and just rested there, finally giving up.

Thomas didn't know what to think. He didn't know if Sailor John would try to keep going, but he did know that the treasure was lost and the ship was derailed and overturned along the branch line. Those two things set off some new fears. What if that would make the Fat Controller cross all over again? All Thomas could do was wait and hope he would be listened to this time...

* * *

Sometime later, the sun rose and Sailor John was picked up by the police. Captain had arrived with two officers and a lifesaver.

"Hello, hello, hello. And what have we got here then?" said an officer.

"But I'm innocent, I tell you!" protested Sailor John, to no avail.

"Tell it to the judge," said the other officer, flatly.

He was placed under arrest. "You've got the wrong pirate!" And Thomas was rescued by Rocky. As he was lifted back to a flatbed, he saw the Fat Controller and gasped.

"I'm so sorry sir. It's all my fault, I know it is…" But the Fat Controller was wearing a smile.

"Thomas, there's nothing to be sorry about. I'm proud of you. Ryan told me everything, and I know you did your best to stop that pirate getting away."

At first Thomas was relieved that Ryan explained about the chase, but one other worry loomed. "But I wasn't quick enough to save the treasure, sir."

The Fat Controller chuckled. "Please don't worry about the treasure, Thomas. My engines are much more important to me than any treasure, and YOU, Thomas are my No. 1." Hearing that, Thomas looked back. Indeed, his number was there and he was right. He said that dirt would wash off eventually, and it did. Thomas' fears had completely dissolved now and he felt really useful once again.

By daybreak at Tidmouth Sheds, the other engines woke up to see the Fat Controller holding the morning newspaper. He told them all about Sailor John's defeat and how far Thomas went to stop him getting away. "Well, Henry," said James. "Perhaps I owe you an apology. Salty's story was true!"

"That's alright James. I was silly, thinking he was a ghost," said Henry.

Then the Fat Controller told the engines about John's attempt to destroy Thomas with dynamite and how Skiff saved him just in time. All the engines gasped and their eyes were as big as dinner-plates. Gordon immediately felt absolutely terrible for what he did at Knapford. His teasing ultimately lead to his ally nearly being blown to kingdom-come. _"Gordon, what have you done?!"_ was all he could think to himself. Emily's mind raced. "Please be alright, Thomas," she whispered frantically.

"Now," said the Fat Controller. "Let's hear a wonderful welcome-home for the one-and-only No. 1 of Sodor!" And just as he said "Sodor," Thomas came into the yards, then onto the turntable and was greeted by a chorus of cheers and whistles for his return and his courage. After the Fat Controller left, Emily then came onto the turntable and buffered up to Thomas. The other engines went quiet.

"Thomas…we heard everything, and not only are you the most handsome engine I've ever met, but you're also the bravest…facing up against that pirate and how you risked your life…oh, no engine has ever gone that far!" gasped Emily.

"Well, Emily," breathed Thomas. "It wasn't my duties, or my coal and water, or the Fat Controller's orders that kept me going…It was your defending me and eternal love that drove me through the night and into the morning…You helped me to do whatever it took, no matter what…and I can never thank you enough for that…I love you, Emily. I'll never stop loving you, my beautiful emerald angel."

Emily was so deeply touched by these words, her eyes had already started dripping tears of joy. "Oh, Thomas…I love you too, I'll always love you and I'll never stop thanking you for being so kind and considerate of me, my handsome cobalt star." The other engines stifled a chuckle. "Emerald Angel and Cobalt Star," they whispered. "Perfect names."

Then, taking no notice of their surroundings, Thomas and Emily kissed deeply and passionately, occasionally pulling apart to whisper to each other before kissing again...all while the other engines stared in amazement.

"Thomas…my love…" Emily whispered passionately.

"Oh, Emily…" Thomas whispered back as they fell back into kissing.

"Aww…" the other engines murmured, smiling sweetly at the loveliest couple on Sodor. Edward was the proudest of all of Thomas' bravery. "Well done, Thomas…" he whispered. "And well done, Emily." He had never felt so touched, seeing the perfect Sodor couple together again...

* * *

At last, work on the new branch line was completed. It extended the Fat Controller's railway from Arlesburgh to Harwick.

"This is so exciting, isn't it, Oliver?" Marion said to the excavator. "We actually built a new branch line." Oliver the engine was coming along with Toad. "I think we're meant to be on that siding over there, Mr. Oliver," said Toad.

Marion was confused. "Oliver? Oliver. But I thought you made a wish. I thought you had changed into a digger. There can't be two Oliver's!"

"Yes, there can!" said the digger and engine together.

"Shush, he's here. Look!" said Douglas. Thomas had arrived with Annie and Clarabel. Thomas even had his scratches repainted.

"It's good to have you back, Thomas," said Annie. "It's good to be back, Annie," Thomas replied. As he pulled up alongside Ryan, the Fat Controller made his announcement.

"Ladies and gentlemen, engines and excavators, I am very proud to open this new branch line, taking my railway up to Harwick for the very first time. My new tank engine, Ryan will take care of the goods traffic, and I'll be calling on a very special friend to look after all the passengers." The Fat Controller didn't intend to gesture at Thomas, but that still confused him.

"But sir, I already have a branch line," he said. The Fat Controller chuckled. "Not you, Thomas. I was referring to Daisy, the diesel railcar."

Thomas was shocked. "Daisy?" he asked. She came up from another line. "That's right, Thomas. Me!" she declared. Everyone cheered for Daisy. She had not been seen for many years and although she had a few mishaps, she meant well.

The Fat Controller continued. "Ahem, so without further ado, I declare this branch line open." He directed everyone standing around him to board Annie and Clarabel.

"But sir, aren't you going to cut the ribbon sir?" asked Thomas. "No, Thomas you are," said the Fat Controller as he leaned out Annie's window. "Full Steam ahead!" he smiled.

"Full Steam Ahead, sir!" called Thomas as he cut the ribbon and officially opened the Harwick Branch Line. Daisy, Ryan and Oliver proudly followed. Then Donald and Douglas, then Duck and Rocky. The diggers and Marion lifted their shovels in salute and Marion beamed with pride as she spotted one little ruby on her shovel. Even Max and Monty observed the cavalcade as they passed by. On the road just above him, Thomas could see Bertie, who suddenly stopped for a flock of sheep to cross, but he didn't mind.

When Thomas reached Arlesburgh Harbour, he was surprised and happy to see Skiff, who was given the job of touring children along the line. He looked much happier now that Sailor John no longer had control over him.

"Hello, Thomas!" he called.

"Hey, Skiff!" whistled Thomas.

"Hey look, I've got my own line now, just like you!" beamed Skiff.

Even better, as Thomas traveled to the other side of the new line, he looked out and saw Captain and three divers, who had just retrieved the treasure and soon, it was sent off to the museum just as the Fat Controller planned. All day across the island, the other engines talked about Thomas' heroism and return home that very morning…

The three Small Engines at Arlesburgh Junction, Porter, Salty and Cranky at the docks, Percy, James and Edward at Knapford Station, Gordon, Henry and Emily on the main line, Toby and Mavis at the Quarry, and Kevin and Victor at the Steamworks. The Grand Opening was a huge success and Thomas spent a little longer at the harbour with Skiff. The ship had been restored and placed in the water while Thomas and Skiff watched the fireworks crackling and sparkling above. Thomas enjoyed it, but he couldn't wait to get back home…

* * *

After an hour, he returned Annie and Clarabel to a siding and approached Tidmouth Sheds. All the engines were asleep, except Emily, who was waiting for her star to come home. When she saw him, she squealed with delight. Thomas rolled over the turntable and buffered up to her.

"Welcome home, Thomas," smiled Emily.

"Thank you, Emily," said Thomas. "You know…now that I'm home…" Thomas began. He buffered as close as he could and whispered something to Emily. She rolled her eyes with wonder, then she gasped with a warm smile. "What do you say, Emily?" Thomas asked.

"What are we waiting for?" she giggled. Thomas gently pulled her out of the sheds and took her to Knapford Sheds. "Here we are," murmured Thomas.

"Ready to have some fun?" Emily asked seductively. Thomas answered by pushing her inside, into the warm shelter of their favorite place to sleep.

"I take that as a yes," she giggled. "I want this night to last, Tommy. Let's take it nice and slow."

Thomas agreed. They stared into each other's eyes for several minutes then ever-so slowly, they began inching closer to each other. They whispered to each other, "I love you," then began their night of happiness, love and reunion.

Emily blushed deep red and sighed happily as she felt Thomas kissing her again. At last, Thomas had come home and Emily couldn't be more joyful. Thomas felt like he was in the clouds as he felt Emily's soft, warm face again. She kept whispering over and over, "Oh…Tommy…" Hearing his nickname drove Thomas' need for Emily. He kept kissing her for eight more minutes, loving the sound of her whisper.

"Oh…Tommy…I love you so much…oh, my gosh…" Emily whimpered.

After Thomas stopped, he let Emily return the favor. She was still blushing as she began to gently kiss his face.

"Aww…Oh…I love you…I love you, Emily," Thomas whispered. Hearing this made Emily even happier as she treasured every moment that passed as she kept kissing him and making him happy. Then Thomas let out a happy groan as Emily began to dot her tongue with her kisses and gently lick his cheeks. "I'm so happy you're home, Tommy. I missed being here with you, so much," Emily said with her beautiful, queenly voice.

"So did I, sweetie," Thomas murmured. "Thank you, Emily…Thank you so much…"

Then, Thomas brushed his lips against Emily's, making them both flush from the sensations felt by both of them. Both of them trembled from the softness of each other's lips on theirs, caressing them lovingly as they kissed each other so softly and sweetly. For a few moments, both of them held that one perfect kiss, suspended in time. Then Emily nearly squeaked with surprise as Thomas kissed her harder – but the moment passed, and soon Emily was losing control of her emotions as well. Kissing Thomas even harder, she faintly heard him emitting slight moans of passion.

Soon, Thomas and Emily were kissing each other with great passion and love; their tongues were intertwined, caressing each other and holding each of them together as they shared themselves in a very intimate and beautiful way. As the explored the deep crevices of the mouths, Thomas gently took hold of Emily's tongue with his tongue and began to gently suck on it. He was rewarded with Emily's soft moans of pleasure, prompting him to continue while slowly raking her tongue with his teeth.

Emily just kept moaning in delight as Thomas continued to delicately treat her tongue. After a glorious ten minutes, Thomas released her tongue so that Emily could give him the same pleasure he had just given her. She did not disappoint. Emily made sure that Thomas felt every kiss, lick and suck she gave his tongue, and he was moaning wildly in incredible pleasure. She ever so slowly and gently ran her teeth over his tongue and then wrapped her tongue around his as her lips captured Thomas' once again in a sweet, tender and passionate kiss.

Tenderly, Emily moaned so softly inside Thomas' mouth, as she kissed him. Thomas moaned next, in desperate desire to kiss his love and hold her close to him forever. Both of them were joined immeasurably, lost in their love for each other as they held each other close, and worshipped each other with their mouths.

They spent another two hours together, whispering happily to each other and exchanging kisses to the lips until finally, they both began to feel sleepy.

"Feeling tired after a pirate's life?" Emily asked jokingly.

"Very," Thomas yawned. "Without you, Emily, I don't know what I would do."

"We are meant for each other, Tommy," she said. "Now, let's enjoy a lovely, long, warm sleep together."

"Goodnight, Emily," Thomas whispered as he kissed her check one more time, then he fell asleep at once.

"Sweet dreams, Tommy. I love you," Emily whispered as she kissed his cheek and drifted to sleep too, smiling as she left his buffers touching hers. Thomas and Emily were in such a deep, happy sleep, they'd be lost in dreamland for a very long time until the sun would rise again

* * *

And thus we have reached the end of "Restoring Lost Honour" ladies and gentlemen. This has been, I would say, one of the most ambitious story that I have posted, but again this story would not have come to life without Jeremy, he has been assisting me with this story ever since December, he has put so much effort into helping me write this for you all to see, and once again Jeremy I cannot thank you enough for all that you have done to help me, not just with this story, but many more. In fact the next time you'll see us will be with the follow up to this story, continuing on from SLOTLT. So once again, thank you all so much for reading this story, please a review for this grand finale and tell us what you thought of this story as a whole, and we will see you all next time for the sequel (sort of) to "Restoring Lost Honour" real soon. Stay tuned for "Inner Demon."


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